


Like A Rowboat on an Angry Sea

by littlemisslol



Series: Drown Your Past, Burn your Future [1]
Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Don't worry he gets one eventually, Emotional Manipulation, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Gaslighting, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Lord everyone wants to protect this small boy, Not crazy violence, Post Season 3, Protective Eugene, Protective Rapunzel, The occasional sprinkling of New Dream but let's be real we're all here for the BOY, This sounds so bad from the tags lmao, Varian Needs a Hug (Disney), Violence, eventually, like star wars level violence, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 48,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23435974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisslol/pseuds/littlemisslol
Summary: After the defeat of Zhan Tiri, Varian, Rapunzel, and Eugene are ready for a nice, quiet retirement. However, trouble rears it's ugly head as a visiting King from a neighboring land stirs up trouble for the resident alchemist. When Varian is stolen away from Corona in the middle of the night, he finds that the man has a connection not only to his past, but to his mother, and most importantly to Varian himself. Alone in hostile territory, with enemies closing in all around him,  Varian is left with two choices.Escape or death.Edited 22/07/2020 for assorted fixes
Relationships: Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Quirin & Varian (Disney), Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Series: Drown Your Past, Burn your Future [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1843564
Comments: 176
Kudos: 559





	1. Amongst the Sharks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It begins.

There were times when Varian really regretted agreeing to being the royal engineer. This was certainly one of them, trapped as he was in the traditional dressings of the Coronian elite for… _whatever it was_ exactly that the foreign dignitaries from Bayangor were here for. Varian tugged quietly at the stuffy, high collared shirt his father had forced him into, praying to anyone who was listening that he may be able to slip out the back and escape back to his lab.

The great hall of the castle had been transformed overnight at the Bayan’s sudden arrival, banners of Corona purple had seemingly sprung from nowhere, and large oak dining tables had seemed to appear from thin air. Hundreds of people, servants and royals alike bustled around, wine and ale flowed with an unending kind of energy, and Varian could feel himself growing anxious with the surrounding chaos. Quietly hiding in the shadow of one of the massive pillars holding the vaulted ceilings, Varian brought a bare hand (because _someone_ decided that gloves weren't proper court clothing, despite that person being _wrong_ ) up closer to his mouth to begin gnawing on his fingernail.

He startled quietly as a much larger hand intercepted his own, blue eyes shooting up to see his father smiling softly down at him.

“Now don’t be doing that, Varian,” Quirin chided quietly, “We’re amongst the elite tonight, mustn’t make a bad impression.”

Varian blushed slightly, bringing his hand back to his sides, where it immediately clenched into a stressed fist.

“Sorry, dad,” the boy muttered, shifting further into his pillar as a frantic servant rushed by with a tray full of food for the upcoming feast.

Quirin merely huffed, patting his son on the shoulder before wandering off and quickly being dragged into the fray of preparations by king Frederic. Varian watched him go with some trepidation, now picking at his fingers instead. Maybe if he scurried off to the lab and made a big enough mess he would be excused from going, _maybe maybe maybe…_

“Varian!” He heard a cheerful voice ring out, tensing again as he was engulfed in a warm hug from the side, but immediately relaxed as he got his frayed nerves back under control.

“Hello Princess,” he laughed as Rapunzel began to sink into him, putting as much weight on him as she could in an effort to squish him into submitting to her aggressive hugging. Rapunzel merely giggled back, squeezing him tighter before finally releasing him. “And here I thought you were off giving the dignitaries a tour of the castle.”

Which she should have been doing, according to her father as of ten minutes ago, when Varian had been seeking her out in the first place.

Rapunzel went red with guilt, immediately laughing him off awkwardly. “Me?” She said with about as much innocence as she could muster, “No you must be thinking of the… other… princess. Yeah.”

Varian hit her with a deadpan stare, secretly delighting in watching her flounder until she finally broke, sighing in exasperation.

“I couldn’t help it,” Rapunzel griped, “Aldred is so _dry_ and… kind of mean? I got my mother to finish the tour so I could come help here!”

Varian nodded, knowing he’d do the exact same in her position. He tugged at the collar of his shirt again, trying desperately to make it looser. Rapunzel smiled at him gently, before batting his hands away and adjusting something near the back of his neck. Once she was done it was admittedly _much_ easier to breathe.

“There,” Said the brunette, patting him on the head, “That should help.”

Varian huffed a token protest at her _petting him_ but knew better than to actually snap. “One day,” He said haughtily, “I’m going to hit my growth spurt and be taller than you.” Varian playfully darkened his expression, “And then you’re going to _suffer_.”

The princess made a small cooing sound, looking at him like one would a puppy, or a particularly tiny kitten. “Alright Varian,” she conceded, “Maybe after your sixteenth birthday you’ll shoot up like a vine and catch up to your dad!”

The alchemist had to laugh at the thought, if he were following in any parent’s footsteps it definitely wasn’t Quirin’s. But a boy could dream, couldn’t he?

Rapunzel’s head snapped up at a frantic cry of her name, one of the servants rushing forwards towards the princess. “Ah, duty calls,” She laughed as she was tugged away, waving goodbye to Varian as she went. The boy laughed, waving as well. _Maybe it’s time to hatch an escape of my own_ , he thought to himself, pushing off the pillar and sneaking towards the massive doors of the main hall. He wove around the chaos clumsily, but still managed to dodge the majority of the anarchy.

That is, until he managed to run face first into someone twice his size, and fall onto his ass without so much as a by your leave.

“Sorry!” He yelped, getting the apology out before he could even hit the ground. “Sorry, sorry, I didn’t see you sir, I-”

“It’s fine,” The man said without any real bite. He reached down to offer Varian a hand, which the boy hesitantly took. Once upright, Varian dusted himself off, before finally getting a good look at the poor man he’d run into.

The man was tall, the same as Varian’s own father, but the similarities ended there. Where Quirin was just as tall, the man in front of Varian was thin, thinner than Eugene even, closer to Varian than anyone else. He had deep wrinkles set in between his piercing blue eyes, wrinkles made from a lifetime of scowling. His face was a mess of harsh angles, all coming together into a pointed nose and angular chin. His salt and pepper hair was combed back, slicked down and generally imposing to look at. Varian could swore he saw a flash of-

“What are you staring at, child?” The man loomed, making Varian feel very… small.

“Nothing, Sir!” He blurted back, “Sorry, just dazed is all!”

The man bent further at the waist, towering over Varian, and peering deep into his eyes. The alchemist felt like he was being scrutinized, like standing in front of a teacher, or his father even.

It was far from pleasant.

“What’s your name, boy?”

“Varian, sir.” Oh cripes he was in for it now. “Varian of Old Corona.”

The man’s eyes flashed with… _something_ Varian couldn’t place, something that seemed like telling this man his name was the worst thing he could have done.

“The Alchemist, I’ve heard of you.”

“Y-you have?”

The man smiled, and Varian felt a chill go up his spine.

“I always keep an ear to the ground for new talent. Bayangor has always had a love for the sciences, of course. Demanitus himself once studied in our kingdom for a time, before the call of his homeland was too much to bear. I was quite surprised when I heard of your pardons.”

Oh. Oh no.

“Ah well,” Varian stuttered, “There were extenuating circumstances, I uh uh-um…”

Ah yes, the best way to prove you’re not a maniacal psychopath is to devolve into stuttering the minute you’re called out about it. Varian could feel himself shrinking as he floundered for _anything_ to say.

“That being said,” The man continued, “We do always love a fresh mind to come join us back in Bayangor, maybe I could convince Frederick to allow me to steal you for the summer. We have many who would love an apprentice with your… vigour.”

On paper it seemed like a lovely offer, going on an apprenticeship in his field in what sounded like a veritable kingdom of knowledge. That being said, one thought about being a weeks' travel away from home, away from his dad, and a rock made itself right at home in Varian’s gut. He couldn’t leave Corona, as much as he claimed to hate it two years ago, it was his home. Hell, he knew Rapunzel would go insane without anyone to talk to other than Eugene, seeing as Cass was far off on her own adventures.

“I- thank you, for the offer,” The boy started, “But I can’t walk away from my duties in Corona.”

There, that was diplomatic, right? Wouldn’t offend the big scary man from some other kingdom, _right_?

From the looks of the scowl the man’s face had fallen into, that would be a _no_.

“Well, think on it,” the man bit out, “We could always use someone like you in our laboratories and-”

“King Aldred!” A nasaly voice suddenly cut off the man’s response, and Varian has never been so happy to see weasely little Nigel in his life.

“King Aldred,” Nigel repeated, barely looking towards Varian, “King Frederick and Queen Arianna were hoping to speak to you before the feast, in the main library.”

The man- Aldred- straightened up from where he had been looming over Varian.

“Ah of course,” He said, making to follow Nigel, “Lead the way. And Varian?” He turned around to fix Varian with a dangerous smile.

“Think on my offer.”

“Yes sir,” Varian meekly said, shrinking back as Aldred turned back around and exited the main hall, steps echoing off the stone walls. Once he was gone Varian let out a tenseness he didn’t know he was holding on to, slumping against the wall in relief. How could one conversation go so _badly_ , by the Sun! He hadn’t felt that stressed out since Zhan Tiri, hadn’t felt the jitters of aprehension creeping into his bones for so long it was nearly a new experience again.

But Aldred was a friend to Corona…

Right?

After checking Aldred had indeed vanished, the alchemist hurried back to the safety of the lab, refusing to stop until there was a door of solid oak between him and the rest of the castle. Amongst the beakers and chemicals the boy let himself sag, finally at ease.

Somewhere deep in his gut, a stone began to settle.

The chill of dread only grew over the next day, and no matter what Varian did it refused to be shaken. The feast had gone well, as far as Varian could tell. Varian, and by extension Quirin, were now technically part of the nobility, even then they were still seated far away from the royals at the head of the hall. Varian felt a twinge of guilt about feeling such relief at the fact, sitting so far from Rapunzel and Eugene (and by extension, Aldred).

Aldred had yet to approach Varian again after their spectacularly awful meeting, small miracles, though that was also probably to do with Varian skittering away to the lab at the mere mention of the man. Rapunzel had noticed the strange behaviour, because of course she had, and had quickly put Eugene on the case of figuring out what exactly had spooked their friend so.

The problem here being that Eugene Fitzherbert was nothing close to subtle in the slightest, immediately invading Varian’s lab with the grace of a hundred elephants.

“So, kid,” Eugene said in the most forced-casual voice Varian had ever heard. “How’s the past week been treating you?” The man wandered further into the lab, kicking the door closed behind him and settling up against the worktable Varian was seated at.

Varian looked up from where he had been mixing his chemicals together, fixing Eugene with a confused stare. Eugene, bless him, kept leaning up against the worktable, looking everywhere save for meeting the kid’s eyes.

“What’s Rapunzel bribing you with?” Varian looked back down, continuing to drip one vial of noxious green chemicals into a beaker filled with a neon pink, jelly like slime. He couldn’t see the affronted face Eugene was making, but Varian knew the older man well enough to see it in his mind’s eye. Eugene let out an affronted scoff, bringing one hand up to grasp at his heart.

“What, I can’t just come check up on the other half of Team Awesome out of the goodness of my heart?” He whined, “How can you think so _lowly_ of me!”

“It was a chocolate tart, wasn’t it?”

“Maybe.”

Varian smirked to himself, placing the vial down and grabbing a glass stir stick. He began to gently whisk the pink goo, watching it turn a soft orange as he stirred.

“Nothing’s wrong,” The boy offered, “Just a bit on edge.”

“Is it Aldred?”

Varian’s head snapped up at that, staring at the man in shock. Eugene merely shrugged and met his eyes, quickly turning the tables on their conversation. “Some of the maids saw you speaking to him,” the man offered, “Said he seemed to be a little… aggressive.”

The alchemist shrank down into his chair, stirring a little more violently. “It was nothing. Aldred offered me an apprenticeship in Bayangor, said I would do well there, he told me he had a few engineers who would be interested in letting me study under them.”

Eugene’s brows shot up at the admission, but settled into a small, concerned frown. “Is that a bad thing?” He said apprehensively, “I mean, you know Sunshine and I would miss you terribly, but if you wanted to go…”

“I don’t want to go!” Varian bit out, slamming the beaker down onto the table, the glass cracking open with a loud _bang_. “That man gives me the creeps! He reminds me of… of Andrew, and I’ve been _trying_ to hide in here until he leaves!”

Orange goo dripped down from the table to the stone floors, the soft _splats_ the only noise save for Varian’s harsh breathing. Eugene looked taken aback, holding his hands up in surrender. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, buddy,” Eugene said softly, working his way around the table. “If you want to stay in the lab then no one’ll fight you on it, We were just worried is all.”

Eugene’s hand wrapped around Varian’s gloved one, slowly prying the intact beaker stem from his clenched fist. Varian could feel himself uncoiling, his jaw slowly unlocking from the tense grit he had found it in.

“Sorry,” the teenager mumbled, “It’s been a tense couple of days.”

Eugene patted him on the back with a chuckle, “No worries, Team Awesome needs to stick together, right?”

Varian let out a little laugh of his own.

“Yeah, of course.”

Team Awesome could only go so far, however, and once night fell and the second feast was in full swing, paranoia got the worst of the Alchemist of Old Corona.

“Just in and out, right Ruddiger?” Varian petted the raccoon gently, his pet seated firmly on his shoulders. Ruddiger chittered happily, leaning into the touch as the pair snuck down the hall towards the guest chambers.

“He’s hiding something, I can feel it.” The boy muttered, slinking through the shadows with practiced ease. “So we’re just gunna poke around and see if there’s anything suspicious. That’s all, right? Barely even illegal.”

Ruddiger just happily snuggled into the warmth of Varian’s neck, and the boy had a little laugh at the tickling sensation. Together they rounded the last turn, coming up to the door that tVarian knew was Aldred’s. Testing the door, he was delighted to see it was unlocked. Classic Corona security. Lord knows how the royals managed to keep everyone from stealing anything not nailed down.

Slipping inside, the boy gently closed the door behind him. The room was lavish, as one would expect, with large windows and solid, oak furniture. A gentle breeze drifted in through the single open window, making the room smell of the lilac bushes out on the terrace. Varian began by immediately beelining for the desk across the room, quietly pulling drawers out from the old oak desk. Nothing of value presented itself, just little bits and bobs that didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things. Moving on to the travelling trunk stashed in the far corner, he found the same story.

Maybe he _was_ paranoid, just because someone gave off a schemey aura didn’t make them evil, right? Varian huffed quietly, kicking at the rug in frustration. He liked to think he had good enough instincts, so why were they wrong _now_?

Ruddiger let out a sudden peeping noise, slipping free from Varian’s shoulders and scooting towards the bed. “What is it, Rudy?” Varian asked, squatting down as Ruddiger shoved his fat body under the bed frame. The raccoon let out another chitter, scrambling backwards and out from under the bed, dragging something behind him.

A small wooden box was gathered in the racoon’s little fingers, Ruddiger trying to pry it open with a vigour reserved for either food or mischief. Varian scooped up raccoon and box both, pushing his pet back up onto his shoulders so he could examine the box with both hands. “What might you be?” The boy murmured to himself, twisting the box this way and that. With a small grunt he managed to pry it open, revealing-

“A vial?” Varian said, holding it aloft to the torchlight. The grey liquid within sloshed around innocently, but Varian didn’t trust that for a hot minute. Shrugging he uncorked the vial, bringing it close to his face for a sniff test. A wave of citrusy bitterness hit him hard, the boy gagging and backing it away with a hiss.

“A knockout potion?” He gasped with dawning horror, knowing the smell well from his own alchemy accidents. “Why would he ever need a-” A sudden clattering at the door sent Varian swiftly corking the vial and bolting for the window. Thank all that was holy that Aldred had been given the room with the balcony attached to multiple other rooms. The teen threw himself out the open window without any sort of decorum, landing flat on his face and scurrying away from sight just as a maid waltzed in, humming a tune to herself. Varian let out a small sigh, crawling towards a neighboring room’s door, slipping through and back inside.

The teenager hustled back through the halls, the knockout potion burning a hole in his pocket. The whole way there he thumbed at the stopper, mind whirling with possibilities. He knew exactly how difficult it was to gather the ingredients needed for this particular potent draught, this was not the kind of potion one would brew up for a sleep aid or a joke. This was the kind of potion you gave to someone to incapacitate them for hours, hell even a full day if you weren’t worried about your victim potentially overdosing.

Varian slammed the door to his lab open, the boy gasping with panic now that he was finally in a safe enough place to do so. He knew it, he knew it he knew it _he knew it he knew **it he knew it**_ **.**

Aldred was as shady as they came, he was certainly in Corona for nefarious purposes, probably targeting either Rapunzel or Eugene because they seemed to be the only people who ever had targets on their backs.

Varian’s breaths were coming in shorter gasps now, his hands shaking as he brought out the vial from his pocket, blue eyes glaring down at it. Tomorrow was the last full day of Aldred’s stay, the man would certainly notice the vial and box missing soon if he intended to do harm in Corona with it.

He needed to warn Rapunzel.

When the feast was over, Varian cornered the royal couple in the halls by the library. Rapunzel and Eugene were always side by side, but had gotten somehow even more attached after their marriage. If it wasn’t disgusting it’d almost be sweet, but today it played to Varian’s advantage, as he could kill two birds with one stone.

“Varian!” Rapunzel greeted, “Your father told us you were ill, are you feeling better?”

Oh yeah, that was the lie he’d fed dad to get out of the feast so he could snoop. Whoops.

“Never better,” Varian said in a tense tone, before he quickly lowered his voice “I need to talk with you two, _now_.”

Eugene, ever the observant, was already moving. The man could see Varian’s agitation from a mile away. “Lead the way, kid,” He said, already pulling Rapunzel along gently by the hand. The princess’ happy face dropped, finally seeing the seriousness in her companions eyes.

“In here,” She directed, leading them both into a small sitting room. She took hold of Varian’s shoulders and bullied him into sitting on a couch before doing the same with Eugene on the nearby chair. The fire in the hearth crackled merrily, large and brightening up the whole room, but Varian couldn’t seem to shake the chill his discovery had given him.

“So don’t hate me,” Varian began, and Eugene bit his lip knowing exactly what kind of news was coming.

“What broke?” The man ribbed, “Because if it’s another window I think Frederick is going to lose his _mind_.”

“Nothing broke, but I _was_ doing some snooping and-”

“Snooping?” Rapunzel interrupted, “What kind of _snooping_ Varian?”

The teen could feel himself going red, but he pressed onwards. “ _Important snooping_ , princess, but listen to me! Aldred has been giving me a bad feeling all week and-”

“You broke into his room?!” Raps gasped, “Varian he’s a foreign _dignitary_ what are you thinking?!”

“I’m thinking he’s up to no good _and I was right!_ ” Varian yelled, his voice cracking at the end. In his desperation he shoots to his feet, “I found this in his rooms, I think he’s intending someone in the royal family harm!”

With no sense of showmanship he yanked the vial out from his pocket, showing it to the stunned couple. Rapunzel peered closely at it, seeming to not understand, but Eugene beat her to it.

“Kid, I’ll be honest I don’t know what that is.”

“It’s a sleeping draught, but not one for casual use. It’s normally used to sedate prisoners for transport!” Varian could feel himself getting worked up again, “I think he intends to use it on either you, Rapunzel, or the King and Queen… I don’t know to what end, but it can’t be anything good.”

Rapunzel had gone pale, eyes flicking back and forth from Varian’s face to the vial in his palm. “Where did you find it?” She finally choked out. Eugene goes to comfort her, standing from his chair as well.

“In his bedroom, under the bed.” Varian said, quieter in the light of her distress. “It was hidden in a locked box under the bed.”

Rapunzel looked like she was going to either vomit or throw something.

“And it’s his for sure?” She asked, a little firmer as colour began to come back to her face.

“I- well I would assume it’s his, it was in his room…”

Rapunzel began to pace, twirling a lock of her short, brunette hair around a finger. “We can’t use that as evidence.” She muttered carefully, “Accusing a visiting lord of attempted kidnapping over something that _might_ be a sleeping draught and _might_ not even be his… it’ll be war.”

Varian could feel the stone sink back in his stomach.

“But- I- _Princess_ you know I’m right, right?”

Eugene piped up, patting Varian on the back. “We’re not doubting you, bud,” he placated, “But we need to know all the information before we can call him out.”

“We’ll have to wait until he tries it, or if he slips up,” Rapunzel was staring into the fire, and Varian could see the gears turning in her head. “I’ll warn my parents, and Lance if he comes to visit. But we can’t do anything unless we catch him red handed.”

“He’s leaving the day after tomorrow,” Eugene agreed, “If he is going to try something he doesn’t have much time. We’ll be careful.”

Varian couldn’t help but slump back down to the couch, staring down at his ill-gotten discovery. Such an innocent thing, to cause such a stir. In the firelight he could see his own eyes staring back at him.

“Okay,” He murmured, looking at his own reflection in the glass, “Okay.”

Varian remained tensed up for the next day, and the day after that. Aldred either knew that _someone_ found his sleeping potion, or Varian truly was going insane and there was never anything to worry about at all.

As Aldred and his party began to pack up in the morning Varian watched from afar. Half hidden behind a pillar he scanned the group with suspicion. Just because Aldred hadn’t tried anything yet doesn’t mean he wouldn’t _soon_.

God Varian was actually going crazy, isn’t he?

With a huff the boy decided to abandon his stalking and head inside, or at least that was the plan until Aldred looked over from where he had been speaking with Frederick. Varian felt himself lock up under the gaze of the man, who merely smirked at him and gave a small, one handed wave. Varian awkwardly returned it before making a break for the castle, nearly bowling over Eugene in the process.

“Woah, where’s the fire bud?” The man laughed, snagging Varian’s elbow and spinning him in a circle to slow the boy’s frantic pace.

“Just… uh…”

“Running from Aldred?”

Damn it.

Varian scowled, shaking Eugene’s lax grip on him and giving the man the best glare he could muster. Eugene, to his credit, acted like he was at least the tiniest bit scared, though both boys knew Varian was about as intimidating as a baby bird.

“C’mon,” Eugene said, moving to waltz towards the kitchen, “A little brunette birdie told me the cook was making croissants and they’re due to be out of the oven in the very near future.”

Well who could say no to that?

The chaos of the past few days was finally winding down. Servants were back to their usual, more relaxed pace now that the company is leaving. Varian couldn’t help but revel in it, overly happy that life could now go back to normal.

“I told you, didn’t I?” Eugene interrupted Varian’s train of thought, making the younger boy look at him funny.

“You’ve told me many things, almost all of them wrong. You’ll have to be more specific.” The boy snarks, mood lighter now that he can finally _relax_.

“Ha! You shut your mouth my vertically challenged friend. I’m talking about Aldred. I Told you Frederick wouldn’t make you go anywhere you didn’t want to.”

“Wait, what does King Frederick have to do with-”

“Aldred was campaigning pretty hard, but when Sunshine told Freddie that you didn’t want to go so he kept saying no of course. Kept saying we need you here, which we do of course!” Eugene continued to blather on, ignoring Varian’s question. “Anyways, Aldred’s all packed up and out the gates by now, so no more worries, okay bud?”

Varian was stuck into silence, suddenly a lot more nervous about the fact that two sovereigns of different countries had apparently been discussing him _at length_. Arguing, even, if Eugene were to be believed. _No more worries_ sounded like a fantasy now. Varian nervously picked at the hem of his vest, all good feelings quickly turning into a puff of smoke.

Eugene seemed to finally clue into the fact that he was making the mood _much worse_ when he caught sight of Varian’s face, six shades paler than usual and pulled tight in worry.

“Oh, oh no kid I didn’t mean to freak you out, I just- It means you’ve got people in your corner, you know?” Eugene began to stumble in his words, nervously watching as the kid began having a veritable crisis in the hallway. “Like I said, there’s no reason to be nervous, he’s gone now anyways. No more, kaput, and Frederick was saying they hardly ever come this far south... _Varian_.”

The full name got Varian’s attention, snapping him from his spiral.

“It’s okay,” the boy grit out through clenched teeth. “I’m okay. Just wasn’t expecting that. You said something about croissants?”

Eugene took the out Varian was presenting them both with.

“Of course! Everyone knows those little beauties are best right out of the oven, even if you have to dodge cook. I’ll run distraction, and you grab as many as you can and run, sounds good?”

Varian couldn’t help but laugh, but the weird feeling from before had already sunk itself deep into his gut, and something told him that things were far from being that simple.

Rapunzel had a thing for weekly _walks_. Every time there was a good day she would gather her _two favorite boys_ and drag Eugene and Varian out to the woods for some good, old fashioned adventuring. Granted, they had to ditch their guards every time, even Varian had been forced to accept a guard dogging his steps when he left the capital. Frederick claimed it was for his safety, but it wasn’t like anyone would ever care about some teenager with a few chemistry tricks. Varian assumed it was a way to get more guards near Rapunzel without having to argue with her about it.

Either way, by now their escorts were used to being abandoned immediately, and rarely made a stink about it, so long as they were back before dinner.

“Ahhh yes!” Rapunzel sighed as she toed off her shoes at long last, chucking them away without much of a care as to where they ended up. The boys watched as she dug her bare toes into the earth of the forest, face turned skywards as she let the sounds of nature wash over her.

Varian watched as she took off, sprinting forwards to god knows where and disappearing between the trees. Eugene let out an exasperated sigh, played up for the drama of course but rooted in something real.

“One of these days she’s going to step on something that isn’t dirt or a stick, and we’ll see how well that goes.” The man grumped, setting himself, and their picnic basket, down on the grassy hill they’d found themselves on. They were somewhere near Old Corona, or what was left of it, but Varian hadn’t been to this section of the woods before. It’s a wonderful little spot, a clearing set upon a hill that leads down into a small but loud stream. It was times like this that Varian was grateful for Rapunzel grabbing him by the ear and dragging him from the underground labs and libraries he spent all his time in.

Varian laughed at the mental image that Eugene presented, settling down himself and cracking open a notebook. He liked to take these times to document the local flora, it always helped to know the local plants, though he always had to suffer through Eugene bugging him about _drawing the pretty flowers_ all day.

Rapunzel had apparently circled back around, as she skid to a stop and threw herself down next to the boys, panting with exhilaration. “Oh, what a good day it is!” She smiled as she settled on her back, stretching in the long grass before tucking her hands behind her head and basking in the sunlight. Eugene merely smiled softly as he looked at his wife, eyes full of adoration and love.

Varian made an exaggerated retching noise at the man’s show of affection, and he got a face-full of grass for his theatrics. Spluttering in indignation, Varian made to toss some back before Rapunzel shot her hands up in between the two.

“ _Boys_ ,” She chided, “Can we please be civil?”

“This coming from the girl with no shoes,” Varian shot back, laughing at the face she pulled at him.

“Well then if you’re going to be like that I guess Eugene and I will have to eat this whole lunch by ourselves, won’t we darling?” She said dramatically, ignoring Varian’s squawk of protest and cracking open the basket, tossing Eugene a wrapped sandwich. The man fumbled it for a second, but managed to snag it with a pinch of his fingers.

“But of course, my love,” Eugene proclaimed, “All these ham sandwiches, just for the two of us, how delightful!”

Varian really needed to make better friends.

Rapunzel seemed to notice the puppy eyes being shot her way and laughed, tossing Varian his own food, but then looked down into the basket as she heard the clinking of glass she knew hadn’t been there when she packed the night before. Reaching in she pulled out a set of what she knew was a set of Varian’s bombs, each a different colour.

“Why are these in here?” She said, not concerned but confused.

“Oh!” Varian managed to get out around his mouthful of sandwich. He swallowed everything down and gasped before continuing. “They’re prototypes for you, they’re basically like my smoke bombs, but they’re colourful! I thought, after the scare with Aldred, maybe I could make you a weapon other than your frying pan…” His words trailed off uncertainty, he was only meaning to test the bombs after Rapunzel and Eugene had split from him back at the castle.

Rapunzel’s eyes shined, though, pleased at the gift. “Thank you Varian,” She said sincerely, “It will be nice to have something just in case. I appreciate you taking the time to think of me.”

Varian couldn’t help but smile as Rapunzel stashed the bombs away in her satchel.

“Speaking of presents,” Eugene piped up, “I know a certain someone’s sixteenth birthday is coming up…”

Oh no.

Rapunzel’s smile went absolutely _manic_ at the thought of planning a party. “Varian!” She chideds, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Varian feels his face go bright red, shrinking down into the grass. His birthday was still a month from now- but he knew that Rapunzel was a party planning machine.

“I don’t want anything big,” He warned, “Just you guys and dad, maybe some of the others from the castle if they want to come. _Nothing big_.” He repeated the last part as Rapunzel opened her mouth to argue, but she settled into a pout as he reiterated.

“ _Fine_ ,” She griped, “But don’t think you’re escaping your party that easily.”

Varian would take it, but he knew by far that he hadn’t escaped her party planning insanity by a long shot. With a sigh the boy leaned back into the grass to join Rapunzel in looking up to the clouds. Soft sunlight wrapped him up like a warm blanket, and for now, Varian was calm.

It was later in the evening when Varian returned to the lab, having been caught up in teaching Rapunzel how to get the most from her new smoke bombs. The torches burn low, and Varian wouldn’t be surprised if his father had already retired for the evening.

Their new chambers were connected to the lab, Varian and Quirin having moved what little they could salvage from the Old Corona mansion to the castle upon Zhan Tiri’s defeat. Quirin and Varian had spent hours picking through the ruins of his childhood home, finding as many odds and ends as they could to load into the wagon. Varian had only seen his father tear up once in his life, and that was upon finding the family portrait of Quirin, a baby Varian, and the boy’s mother, Aisha. Quirin had to step away after finding the painting intact, if not a little dusty, and Varian had been left to stare at it in a quiet resignation.

That being said, unpacking had fallen by the wayside over the last month. There were still crates and random boxes littering what was supposed to be a sitting room. Varian flopped down on the haphazardly placed couch, pulling a random box over to start unpacking a little before he went to sleep. It seemed to be things they had managed to pry out from his old lab, from the looks of the dusty beakers and machine parts. The boy sorted through them with a lackluster feeling, knowing the memories of the lab under old Corona were nothing if not a little bitter.

He came to a stop, however, when his hand hit paper instead of metal. Looking in he pulled out a single sheet, and Varian could see his father’s gentle, looping handwriting.

_Son,_ it began, and Varian could feel himself tense up. The note from the amber… he didn’t know it had survived. And why had his father saved it? Varian knew all about the dark kingdom at this point, right? What else was written that needed to be preserved?

Chancing a glance towards his father’s bedroom, Varian clutched the note a little closer. He gently slipped from the sitting room back out into the lab, sitting down at one of the tall stools at the main worktable. One more look towards the door to the residential wing and he hunched over, eyes locking back onto the handwriting before him.

_Son,_ it began, _There are so many secrets I have kept from you. There’s not much time, but I will start with this. I love you more than anything, but you are not a child of my blood. I met your mother when she was already pregnant-_

What?

_What?!_

**_W H A T?!_ **

****

Varian paused in shock, reeling from what he had just read… _Not a child of my blood_ … as in his father wasn’t his father? But Quirin had raised him, kept him safe and warm, read him stories, dried his tears when he cried, how could this man _not be his parent?_

And if Quirin wasn’t his birth father, then… _who was_?

Varian could hear his heartbeat in his own ears, a deep pounding that was rapidly speeding up until it was all the alchemist could focus on.

Shaking hands went to grab the note, Varian intending to wake his dad up and demand an explanation regardless of the time, but before he could a gloved hand reached around from behind him and slammed over his mouth, muffling his shout of surprise. Another muscular arm snaked around the boy’s waist to lift him up and off the stool, ignoring the muffled shouting and flailing of the boy trapped in it’s grasp. Varian struggled wildly as whoever had him began to carry him backwards, towards the exit.

In one last desperate attempt Varian bared his teeth and bit his attacker’s hand, and heard a male voice grunt in pain. The boy used those precious seconds to free his face, and screeched as loud as he could into the quiet lab.

“ _DAD_!”

The man holding Varian seemed to understand that his current plan wasn’t working, and brought a vial from _somewhere_ , quickly forcing the contents down the boy’s throat. Varian could taste the bitter tang of citrus and something else disgusting, but as soon as it was in his mouth he felt himself losing feeling in his legs. The numbness crawled up his body like a chill, and he could feel himself going limp as his body drifted off into a forced sleep.

Just as his eyes began to close, he could hear his father’s battle cry, seeing a large figure in the doorway to their quarters.

“ _Varian_!’ Quirin shouted, immediately going into a battle stance, sword held aloft. Varian’s world swirled into a mess of colours that he couldn’t differentiate.

And then all he knew was black. 


	2. Blood in the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel panics. Varian wakes up among unfriendly faces.

Dawn broke, strong and beautiful over the capital, and in the sharp morning light the corpse of Quirin of Old Corona was discovered in a pool of his own blood. It was poor Stan who had found the scene, going about his morning rounds and poking his head in to wish Quirin a good morning, only to find the brutal tableau.

The castle was thrown into a panic immediately, guards scattering to every corner of the palace to look for the murderer, and the doctors called. The servants were told to go to their quarters, for their own safety, and the castle of Corona was put under lockdown.

It was with a heavy heart that the castle physician had declared that Quirin had been dead for hours, probably from later the past evening, and with that Frederick ordered for the body to be prepared for a burial.

But, and it was a brutal thought, Rapunzel had something else entirely on her mind.

“Where’s Varian?” She had yelled as she barreled into the throne room, everyone in the room jumping in fright at her sudden appearance. The whole castle was on edge after the brutality of last night. The princess rushed to her father, gasping for breath. “Where is he?! Dad _please_ tell me he’s okay!”

Her father had taken her aside, his face somber.

“We can’t find him.” Frederick said quietly, and Rapunzel’s heart dropped to the floor. “Whoever it was either let him run and he’s left the grounds, or…”

“They took him.” Rapunzel gasped, eyes watering. Frederick nodded, refusing to meet her gaze.

“That is the running theory.” He said. “We’re getting everyone we can to start the search in an hour. We had to make sure Quirin was… given his proper dues.”

Rapunzel nodded, backing away from her father. “Eugene and I will start looking now,” She said with fire in her eyes. “We’re his friends, if he did manage to escape then I know places where he might hide.”

Frederick accepted with a dip of his chin. “Just be careful,” He murmured, “If whoever it was was able to win against Quirin in a fight, I worry to think about what would happen if they came after you next.”

Her own safety was literally the furthest thing from her mind, but she agreed nonetheless. With that she bid her father goodbye and rushed from the room, heading for the guard’s garrison. Eugene may act like being captain of the guard was an easy job, but she knew that he took it seriously. _Especially_ when his friends were in danger.

Lo and behold, when she entered the garrison Eugene stood before a cluster of guards, a map of the city and nearby towns to his back. Someone had hastily added a grid overtop of the map, dividing it into squares.

“Alright boys,” Eugene said loudly, “The best way to start looking for the kid is for everyone to take a part of the grid and go through your portion with a fine-toothed comb. We’ll go in pairs just in case, but we have to make sure we cover everything!”

He held up a piece of charcoal, gesturing to the map with it, “Now everyone pair up and write your names down where you’ll be looking. We’ll regroup at lunch. Good?”

The men all agreed, a few moving forwards to claim a space immediately. It’s only then that Eugene looked over and saw Rapunzel waiting for him, satchel already packed and ready to go. God, he loved this woman with everything he had.

“I take it you got filled in.” Eugene said to break the silence between them as he walked over. She nodded, not trusting herself to say anything without her voice cracking. The thought of Varian, who while smart was still so innocent, in the hands of the person who had murdered Quirin in cold blood… well it was enough for Rapunzel to suddenly see the appeal of hiding children away in towers.

“I’m going to look in all his hideouts.” She said, and when her voice cracks Eugene is kind enough not to mention it. “The Demanitus Chamber, Old Corona, everywhere I can before the sun goes down.”

Eugene drew her into a tight hug, tucking her head under his chin. “I’ll go with you,” He assured quickly, “I just wrapped up here, we can go when you’re ready. We'll take the tunnels, if he’s anywhere it’ll be down there.”

She brought her hands up to curl into his chest, hiding her face as the tears threaten to flood. “Why Varian?” She croaked out, “Why, of all people, is it always my friends and family who are in danger?”

Her husband sighed and drew her closer, rubbing a hand up and down her back. He didn’t say anything, but the comfort is enough for her to get a grip on herself for the moment. Varian didn’t have time for her to sit around and cry. 

“Let’s get going,” She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. As Eugene led her towards the entrance to the tunnels she found herself praying to anyone who was listening that they could find Varian safe and sound.

Varian was decidedly not safe and sound. When he had startled awake into inky darkness his first thought had been for his father, frantically fumbling around in the shadows of his prison until he felt wooden planks all around him. The gentle rocking motions of his prison, accompanied by the sounds of horses led the boy to believing he was in a carriage of some kind.

Which was arguably worse than if he was stuck in a cage somewhere, as he had been when Cassandra had held him captive. At least then Rapunzel and the others knew where he was for pity’s sake. At the moment _Varian_ didn’t know where Varian was, and the thought only grew more dire as the carriage continued on for hours, let alone the travel time they had already gone through while Varian was asleep.

This was decidedly not ideal, in Varian’s humble opinion.

But it gave him time to think, at least. The note that had most likely been abandoned on the work table in the lab had been a little bit of a slap to the face from the first sentence to say the least, but Varian couldn’t exactly deny it coming from what his father thought were his final words.

And by the sun, they may have been his final words after all.

Varian wasn’t sure exactly what happened after he’d been drugged, but he knew that his dad would have fought tooth and nail before allowing Varian to come to any harm. The teenager brought up a hand to harshly bite at his fingernails, biting down to the quick and then moving on to the skin surrounding them. He could feel his heart beating at a rabbit’s pace, slamming against his ribcage aggressively. His dad was at the very least incapaciated, and in the worst case he was dead.

Though from the feelings Varian was getting from this whole situation, something told him it was probably the latter, much to the alchemist’s dismay.

Varian could feel himself spiraling, his hands shaking as he finally gave up on frantically pacing the width of the caravan. Slumping down next to the wall he drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them close, gripping as tightly as he could in a sad attempt to self-soothe. His breathing was erratic at best, and he frantically tried to control the tears threatening to slip free. Some great fighter he was, couldn’t protect himself, couldn’t protect his dad, could even keep himself composed. He hadn’t cried when Cassandra had snatched him, so why now?

Well.

Even when Cassandra had been on her rampage, Varian knew who he was dealing with. Hell, she herself had said she didn’t want to hurt him. Somewhere deep down, he knew that she was still _Cass_ under that black armor. He still trusted her to not _kill him_.

But this? This was unknown territory. He had no idea where he was, who he was with, he didn’t even know if anyone had figured out he was missing yet.

Varian’s chest spasmed under his hitching breaths, the tears unrelenting. He buried his face into his knees to muffle the sobs he couldn’t help but let out, hands clawing at his shins in an attempt to draw them even closer to himself.

He was alone, his father was probably dead, and no one knew where he was.

By the _Sun_ this wasn’t turning out to be a good day at all.

He forced himself to slow his breathing eventually, even he knew that hyperventilating wasn’t going to be useful. He used one hand to wipe at his face carefully, feeling a little more composed now that the worst of his feelings had been compartmentalized. _Deep breaths_ he told himself, _deep breaths_.

Maybe he could begin to settle down a bit, now.

And then the door opened.

Harsh light shot through the carriage, forcing Varian to throw his arms up and cover his eyes after hours of darkness. The noises from outside were louder too, braying horses and men talking. Varian could feel a large hand wrap itself around his forearm, tugging him forwards and out of the caravan, not without protest on Varian’s part of course.

“Let _go of me_!” He snapped, trying fruitlessly to tug his arm out of the man’s hold. When that didn’t work he resorted to scratching at the man’s armor, bitten and bloody fingers not exactly doing much damage. “Let go, let go, let go, _let GO!”_

The man holding him was massive, absolutely giant, and nearly stood shoulder to shoulder with the horses they were passing. His tanned skin was covered in tattoos, and Varian could see he was missing an ear.

This wasn’t going to go well at all, was it?

There were countless men in knight’s armor watching the spectacle as Varian was bodily dragged through their camp, kicking and screaming as much as his aching body would allow. He managed to remember a trick Eugene had taught him once _just in case_ and swiftly brought his foot into the crook of the man’s knee from behind, forcing his captor down onto the ground in a kneeling position. Varian took his chance and tried to rip his arm away, the seam of his shirt’s arm ripping free and allowing the boy to twist his way out. The alchemist whirled around and saw that everyone was surrounding him, and the giant had stood back up to his full height while not looking exactly _happy_ with Varian’s escape attempt.

The boy quickly backed away, but soon found himself surrounded on all sides. It was then that he noticed that all of the people surrounding him were familiar to him. He’d been stalking them all week for the duration of their say in Corona after all.

These were Aldred’s knights.

He also, belatedly, realized he didn’t have any shoes on.

Knowing he was caught, he slowly raised his hands up in surrender, wincing as he was snatched by the back of his shirt and effectively scruffed. Varian let out a hiss as his shoulder twinged at the rough treatment, he’d probably pulled something in the frantic scramble for freedom.

Why was he not surprised this had all come back and blown up in his face? Of _course_ the singular person that Varian had seemed wrong about being nefarious had kidnapped him. That was pretty par for the course with his stupid luck, wasn’t it? Here he was thinking it was bandits or Saporians, nope, had to be the feudal lord of a neighboring kingdom.

Varian was nothing if not consistent with the way his life spiraled out of control.

Coming to an abrupt halt, the man holding Varian dropped him roughly to the ground. The boy let out a grunt as he hit the dirt, before being roughly shoved to his knees and forced to look up, staring in muted horror to see his own eyes looking back at him.

“There he is,” Aldred smirked, squatting down so they were eye to eye. “The guest of honour.”

Varian opted to stay quiet, knowing from past experiences with Cass that this was _not_ the time to snark unless he wanted a few broken ribs.

“Nothing to say?” Aldred made an exaggeratedly sad face. “You’d think Aisha’s son would have a little more fire in him.”

Wait.

“You knew my mother?” Varian said, any sort of rebellion snuffed out at the prospect of information. Quirin was nothing if not tight lipped when it came to talking about Aisha, so any kind of information was something the boy sought out whenever he could.

“Of course I did,” Aldred chided with barely contained glee. “She was my _wife_.”

Oh. In the context of recent information that Varian had just discovered, this was not good news in the slightest. 

Oh wait, Aldred was still talking.

“-until that little _bitch_ decided to run off with something that belonged to me. I managed to track her over a year, and I found her in some _backwater_ village called Old Corona, but before I could take back my prize, she ran.”

“And she drowned.” Varian bit out, having heard the stories from the villagers of Old Corona. His mother had gone to visit family in Arendelle, and had drowned in a terrible storm that had sent the whole ship straight down into the inky depths.

Aldred nodded. “And she drowned. A pity. I thought she had taken my treasure to the bottom of the sea, but you know what I found out during my recent stay in Corona?”

Varian was shaking heavily now, already knowing where this was going.

_No_ , no way was Aldred implying…

“I found that she hadn’t taken _our child_ with her when the water took her down. Instead she had left him in the arms of some disgraced knight to be raised as a _bumpkin_ in some tiny, awful village.”

Oh by the Sun.

Aldred grabbed Varian by the chin and forced him to look up from the dirt and into eyes that were identical to his own. “She couldn’t hide you forever. I followed the rumours of the _Alchemist of Old Corona_ , intending just to check, and bring you home if I was right. I never meant to go to the capital, but when I was found by your patrols I had to pretend to be visiting.”

Varian was going to throw up.

“Imagine my surprise when I found you right where I was least expecting. And best friends with the princess as well.” Aldred’s smile went downright feral. “You have made quite a name for yourself, haven’t you? Of course, it’s in your blood. Between the monarchy of Bayangor and Aisha’s connection to Demanitus you were bound for glory the minute you were born.”

Varian was _actually_ going to throw up.

“There’s a reason I picked her. She was a direct descendant of one of the greatest scientists to ever live and by the moon could she back that fact up. Between the two of us I knew we could achieve such greatness. And we did for a time, in our heyday we burnt cities, toppled governments. She was the love of my life.” Aldred leaned forwards, and reached up to play with Varian’s blue hair stripe. The boy tried to shift backwards, but was forced into staying still by the knight at his back.

“And then she got _pregnant_ ,” Aldred spat, “And suddenly grew a set of morals. She wanted a different life for you, wanted you to have the chance to pick your own path. Our greatest experiment together, and she _ruined it_.”

With that, Aldred merely hummed in thought, before giving Varian’s hair one last tug. Meeting the boy’s eyes again he reached up to his own hair, and pulled it from its slicked back style, letting it flop forwards to frame his face.

Varian couldn’t help but stare in horror as a blue stripe just like his appeared from under Aldred’s hair, faded with age, but there nonetheless. He couldn’t process this… there was just too much information to go through in too little time. He never had been shocked into silence before but it was certainly not a great experience.

“Welcome home, son.” Aldred said finally, patting Varian on the head like a child. “I’m sure we’re going to do great things together.”

“You’re not my father.” Varian spat before his mind could catch up with his mouth. “My father is Quirin of old Carona, and it doesn’t matter who I came from! He… he loves me like his own and is more of a father than you could ever be!”

Aldred’s expression darkened with such intensity that Varian found himself shrinking back without even thinking about it. Yet somehow, when Aldred’s face settled into a cool rage it was even worse.

“Was that his name?” Aldred asked, “The man who was in the laboratory with you?”

Varian nodded shakily, not liking where this was going.

Aldred merely smiled at that, before fixing the boy with a sad look. “Well in that case Quirin of Old Corona is long dead, seeing as he was murdered late last night. I wonder how that could have happened?”

The ground felt like it dropped out from underneath Varian’s feet.

His ears were ringing, eyes brimming with more tears. His thoughts were soup and the world just stopped turning. Aldred had murdered his father to get to Varian. Quirin was dead, not in a stasis he might wake from, not somehow alive, _dead_.

And Varian can feel something _snap_ , feel the white-hot rage he wasn't sure still existed filling his core for the first time in years.

“I’ll _kill you!_ ’ The boy wailed, jumping forwards before he can think about what he was doing. “I’ll kill you, you _monster_!” Varian’s shoulders were grabbed by someone, he didn’t care who it is, but Varian kept struggling, intent on murdering the man in front of him.

“Ah, please,” Aldred stood so he was again towering over Varian. “Call me _father_.”

“ _Never_.”

Aldred merely smiled, and the knight holding Varian brought up one of the boy’s arms. Aldred patted Varian’s hand condescendingly, before gently taking hold of the pointer finger.

“Call me father.”

“ _No._ ”

SNAP.

Varian shrieked as his finger was broken, Aldred remaining stoic as the boy wailed, and as Varian thrashed in the knight’s grip, the hands holding him never faltering. Pain raced up Varian’s arm, but he kept glaring at the man in front of him.

Aldred took hold of the middle finger.

“Call me father.”

“Go to HELL!”

SNAP.

The second one is somehow worse than the first, his whole hand was now on fire.

The ring finger is next.

“Call. Me. Father.”

Varian whimpered as Aldred teased at breaking the bone with each word.

The man took Varian’s chin in his hand and forced the boy to meet his eyes through the tears. “This is only going to get worse. Keep it up and we’ll move on to the other hand. Now. What will you call me?”

“F...father.” Varian finally sagged in his captor’s hold, His hand ached, electric pain skirting up his arm with every breath. Aldred smiled at him warmly, patting Varian’s tear stained cheek.

“ _That’s my boy._ ”

Rapunzel sank into her favorite chair, exhausted after a day of travelling with Eugene and Max. Trying to find their wayward Alchemist was proving harder than she was hoping, and every dead end drew Rapunzel closer to an unhappy conclusion.

Whoever had murdered Quirin had indeed taken Varian with them.

She was running out of ideas as to where Varian would have hidden himself if the boy had escaped, and Rapunzel couldn’t help but start to think about extending the search to outside of the inner cities and towns of Corona.

It had already been at least a full day since Varian had vanished, and it only took two days of travel to reach the closest border from the capital. Rapunzel was at a loss, she knew that her next move would be one of the most critical if they wanted Varian home safe. The kidnapper had either already bunkered down, in which case the more manpower combing through Corona the better, or they were making a break for the border, meaning they had to cut the villain off before they could escape the country, and Rapunzel’s influence by association.

If the kidnapper got across the border and into any one of the neighboring countries, it would spell disaster for Rapunzel, and most certainly Varian as well. The princess would then be forced to tiptoe around the ruler of the kingdom in question, which could take months, or it would narrow their search party down to herself and Eugene as to not arouse suspicion.

Rapunzel stared into the fireplace, twirling a piece of her short, brunette hair around a finger, puzzling over what was the best course of action. Varian _needed_ her help, but without knowing the plans of his captor there was too much grey area to really make a solid decision about where to go from here.

It was times like this that she would give anything to have Cassandra by her side again.

The young woman was so engrossed in her thoughts that she startled when Eugene suddenly appeared in front of her, his brows knit together in concern.

“You okay, sunshine?” He asked softly, taking her hand from where it had been gripping the arm of her chair. His face was smiling gently, but she could see the sadness in his eyes. Eugene was just as worried as she was, even if he was trying to be strong for the both of them. She offered him a subdued smile, grateful everyday that this was the man she got to spend the rest of her life with.

“I’m okay.” She said sadly, curling up a little on the chair. “Just worried for Varian. He must be so scared…”

“He’s a tough kid.” Eugene said, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles. “We’ll find him soon.”

Rapunzel could feel the dam break, and she threw herself into her husband’s arms, letting out a pained noise.

“We’ll find him, sunshine.” Eugene murmured, “We’ll find him.”

Varian spent the night locked in the caravan. And the night after that, and the night after that, and then three more. After Aldred had gotten one of the knights to attend to the boy’s broken fingers, Varian had been shoved in and promptly forgotten about while he assumed the men outside hunkered down for the evening. Twice a day the man with the missing ear would crack the door open, pushing food and water through before slamming the door shut, but beyond that Varian was left in solitude for the better part of a week.

Not that he was complaining, mind you, the alchemist was relieved to be left alone to slowly work his way through the seven bombshells that had been dropped on his worldview, one point at a time.

One: Quirin wasn’t his birth father. This one Varian could see himself coming to terms with eventually. Quirin may not have had a hand in Varian’s… creation, but he is… he _was_ the best father the boy could have asked for. Varian couldn’t help but think back to every time they had acted so differently, small tidbits that in retrospect painted a pretty damning picture. Quirin, though not stupid, had never showed much affinity to the sciences or mathematics. Quirin was a fighter, Varian a schemer. Brute force verses brains. The boy had always just assumed that he took after his mother but seeing Aldred made him wonder if certain quirks of Varian’s hadn’t come from the man as well. The thought of being anything like Aldred made the boy shudder and move on to the next topic.

Two: Aldred _was_ his birth father. Easily the linchpin for the rest of his current problems. Varian’s aching fingers already proved that Aldred was an awful man, sadistic and cruel. He’d been in Corona for the sole purpose of kidnapping Varian, and obviously had no intention of letting the boy go any time soon.

Three: His mother was apparently nothing like he had envisioned her. The painting of his parents had made her seem.. Soft, gentle, like a mother from a fairy tale. Not a warlord in her own right, and certainly not a supposedly brutal queen. The way Aldred described her made her sound almost like Cassandra, when she had been under Zhan Tiri’s control. Cold, harsh, _mean_ , and obsessed with power. She sounded like a proper heir of Demanitus.

Four: His mother was a descendant of Demanitus, meaning _Varian_ was a descendant of Demanitus. Arguably the least devastating out of the whole lot, if anything the best news he’s gotten in the past week. _Descendant of Demanitus,_ by the sun did that explain a lot. Varian was actually excited to tell Rapunzel about that one.

Five: Aisha of Old Corona ( _of Bayangor, a traitorous voice whispers_ ) hadn’t been going to visit family when she drowned, she had been running from the very man she had once been married to. Had she ever expected to return? Why had she left Varian behind, if she never intended to come back? Logically Varian knew it was difficult to travel with children, let alone an infant, but had she really thought abandoning him in a place where no one would understand his intelligence was a better option? Maybe it was for the best, Varian mused, as he had at least survived to see past his first birthday, where if she had brought him along he wouldn’t have.

Six: The worst of them All. Quirin was dead. Somehow losing him was harder the second time around, maybe because this time Varian knew he was _dead_ as opposed to merely encased in amber. Knew they would be burying a body, not breaking him free. Varian had the sneaking suspicion that he would be missing the funeral. Even worse, this threw Varian’s past into a whole new light. Quirin had saved Varian from the amber, thinking it to be at the cost of his own life, for a child he had _chosen_ to love. And that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? Quirin hadn’t been obligated to love Varian, to be his father. He’d _chosen_ to, and the thought made something sad settle in Varian’s gut. Quirin had chosen to love Varian, and he had been murdered because of it.

Seven, Finally: A slight mixture of two and three. Varian was descended from villains. Horrible, truly _awful_ people, if Aldred was to be believed. Suddenly Varian’s previous foray into evil doings seemed just that little more sinister. Was it one hundred percent himself that had made those choices, or was it, as Aldred had stated, _in his blood_? Was Quirin’s honour code, and Rapunzel’s forgiveness, enough of a guiding light to keep Varian on the path of good? Or would he eventually revert back to the angry, bitter person he had once been? How far did choices take you in forging your personality?

Conclusion: Varian was going to have to write a novel to explain exactly what was happening with his bloodline apparently. He’d gone from assuming he was nothing overly special when it came to lineages to not only being _royalty_ (and boy was Rapunzel going to laugh at that, between Varian and Eugene who _wasn’t_ a surprise prince at this point?), but also the descendant of one of the greatest inventors to ever exist.

It was more than a lot to take in.

Varian was startled as the caravan came to a sudden halt. They’d only ever stopped after at least six hour’s travel, and today they’d only been on the road for a time much shorter than that. The boy slowly began to back away from where he knew the door was, apprehensive as to _why_ exactly they were breaking early.

The capital of Bayangor was the city of Crowshaven, aptly named for its abundance of the black feathered birds. It was also, Varian realized with a sinking feeling, about a week’s worth of swift travel North from Corona’s own capital.

Loud voices started coming from outside the caravan, and Varian tensed himself into a coil, ready to run the minute the door opened. The alchemist had the distinct feeling that once Aldred got him into the castle, be it in the dungeon or not, Varian’s escape would be _much_ more difficult to attempt.

And hey, prison instincts never really went away, honestly.

Just as anticipated the door to the caravan began to crack open, and Varian tensed a little farther in, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

_Three_.

_Two_.

_One_.

The door was open enough that Varian’s thin self could slip through before the lumbering giant that was his keeper could get _in_. The boy bolted forwards, slipping out the door and ducking under a flailing arm. His bare feet hit cobblestone for the first time in days, but Varian didn’t take the time to relish in it, sprinting for the main gate in front of him.

Multiple people tried to grab at him- but he was successful in dodging all of them, weaving around the threatening arms and nearly out into the open of the city of Crowshaven.

That is, until a hand managed to snag the back of his shirt, roughly jerking the boy to a violent halt. Varian let out a squeak as he was choked by his own shirt, pulled backwards until the grasping hands of two of the knights could snare him once again. Varian let out a despaired howl, watching as his last shot at a breakaway disappeared in a puff of smoke. The iron gate of the castle, easily twenty feet high, slammed closed with a large _boom_ that rattled in the teenager’s chest. Varian couldn’t force himself to look away from the gate, despair covering his thoughts like a shroud.

He was dragged backwards across the courtyard and up a grand front stair, suspended between the two guards that caught him. Their footsteps change tone as they enter the castle, the echo of them almost deafening. Varian watched with a sense of finality as the massive wooden door of the castle slammed shut behind them, seeing the light from outside disappear in an instant.

Where the castle of Corona was made of white limestone and warm redwood, the castle at Crowshaven was made of slate grey stones and polished marble. Varian couldn’t help but feel a chill creep up his spine.

The boy couldn’t even find it within himself to struggle, finally given some slack by his captors as they dragged him up endless flights of stairs. Eventually they hit one grand staircase that spiraled up the interior of one of the grand towers of the castle, climbing swiftly. Varian could see where this was going a mile away, and _did not like it one bit no sir_.

They really were going to lock him up in a tower, weren’t they? By the Sun Rapunzel was going to have a _fit_.

When Varian and his jailers hit the top of the staircase there was a single hallway, only two or three doorways on each side, and at the very end of the hall was one larger oak door. It would almost be unassuming, if not for the iron padlock keeping the door shut.

Varian put up one last struggle as they opened the door and threw him in, trying to pull himself from their grasp and failing spectacularly. A week of sleeping on the floor of a caravan without enough space to properly stretch his legs had made him about as strong as a kitten, so as he was roughly shoved through the door he fell to his knees with a sharp _smack_ against the stone. Pain shot up his arm from his broken fingers, but that didn’t stop Varian from bouncing back up and running back for the door.

He skid to a stop, however, when he saw who was standing there.

“Hello Varian,” Aldred said, his body taking up almost the entire door frame. “Welcome home.”

“Take me back to Corona.” Varain demanded, glaring at the man. “You can’t just lock me up here, it’s inhumane-”

“It won’t be forever. Just until you see reason. Once you accept that this is your home you’ll have free reign of Barviel Keep, just as I did as a boy.”

Ah, right, the castle had a name.

“My _home_ is in Corona.”

Aldred put on a sad face at that, moving forwards into the room and allowing a small pack of guards to follow him in. All of them were threatening enough on their own, but not a single one’s face showed through their heavy helmets. It set Varian on edge, looking into black holes where eyes should be.

“And this is why you’re in the tower.” Aldred sighed, as if this whole thing was Varian’s fault. The man approached Varian at this, uncaring as the boy scrambled backwards as he approached. The alchemist moved back until his back hit a writing desk, rattling the things on top of it. Aldred grabbed Varian’s chin, forcing him to look up.

“Soon you’ll see it my way, and when that day comes I’m sure we’ll be great friends. But until you see reason, precautions must be taken.”

Varian’s heart was going to drop through the floor.

“Now! It’s been a long week for us both.” Aldred drew back, finally, and clapped his hands in emphasis. “Lunch isn’t for another hour, so how about you take the time to freshen up, and I’ll send an escort for you when it’s ready.”

It wasn’t a request, and Aldred made sure that Varian knew that.

The boy just glared at him, before sighing and deciding to save his battles for a different time. “Yes.” He said quietly, the word barely squeaking out of his constricted throat. Aldred’s face fell a bit, before bringing a hand back up and cupping Varian’s cheek, uncaring as the boy’s blue eyes snapped shut in fright.

“Yes _what_?” Aldred intoned, voice dangerous despite his gentle touch. Varian’s broken fingers throbbed in warning, a very clear reminder.

“Yes _father_ ,” The boy bit out, nearly choking on the bitterness the words left in his mouth. Varian’s eyes opened to stare at the floor, and he could feel his legs threatening to give out as he shook.

Aldred’s face brightened, and the man gave Varian a gentle pat on the cheek. He didn’t say anything else, the defeated look on Varian’s face was surely enough for him. The man left the room, Varian still shrinking into the desk in a meek submission. The guards followed, save for one.

“ _What_ ,” The boy hissed at the remaining guard, “The hell do you _want_?”

The guard seemed to pause, their soulless faceplate staring at Varian in an unreadable silence. Varian could feel the white-hot anger coming back after a week of being forced down, and he grabbed the first thing off the desk he could. The heavy, glass paperweight had a good weight as he chucked it at the silent guard, who barely managed to dodge it.

“ _Get out!”_ The boy wailed, as the glass shattered into a thousand tiny shards up against the wall. “ _Leave me alone_ ,” Tears fell to the floor with the glass splinters, and Varain could feel himself losing the composure it had taken him a week to get back.

The guard straightened up from where they had crouched slightly to avoid the projectile, still staring the boy in the face. Varian let out an animalistic sound, reaching for something else on the desk, this time an ink pot, and whipping that across the room too. It made a satisfying splash of ink across the light grey of the wall as it too shattered. 

“Didn’t you _hear me_?” His voice was shrill now, in fear, in rage, in pain, Varian couldn’t tell you which. “ _I said get OUT_!”

He began to reach for another object, but the guard finally seemed to get the picture, walking calmly to the exit. They take one more look at this shaking, sobbing, mess of a boy before swiftly closing the door behind them. Varian can hear the _click_ of the padlock outside, and allowed himself to sink to his knees on the floor, his back still to the desk.

And in the silence of the room, he buried his face in his hands and _sobbed_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *lays back on my couch and cracks a beer* Y'all ever notice how Varian doesn't look like either of his parents? Let's discuss. 
> 
> So chapter two baybeeee! Thanks for the great response to chapter one, I haven't written for a long time so this started as more of an experiment to see if I still "got it" so to speak and it just ballooned into this monstrosity. Thanks again for the warm welcome!


	3. Diving into Deeper Waters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Varian learns some family history; Rapunzel is visited by an old friend.

Varian had been missing for two weeks.

Rapunzel had torn out more hair than what was probably healthy. Her worry had consumed her waking moments, the fear for her friend was all encompassing. She paced back and forth in front of a map of all of Corona’s territories, divided into a grid much like the smaller map of the main city had been on day one of the search for Varian.

“Check again.” She said bitterly, turning around to the different squadron leaders, all seated around the long table before her. “We must have missed him somewhere, _check again_.”

“Your majesty... ” One squadron leader said softly, “We’ve checked everywhere we know. It might be time to start looking outside our borders.”

“We are running under the assumption that someone took the lad for ransom,” Another piped up from the other side of the large meeting table, “So obviously they wouldn’t take him too far. But we all know what that kid can create with a few odds and ends, maybe they wanted him for his brain?”

“If they wanted him for ransom we would have gotten a note a week ago,” Came a third, sullenly. “He’s probably dead by now.”

“ _Quiet_!” Eugene barked, “I won’t stand that kind of talk. Now you heard your princess, start back and the beginning and _check. Again._ ”

The squad leaders grumbled but took the note to leave, going to gather their men and filing out one by one. Soon it was just Eugene and Rapunzel left, and the minute they were alone the princess sank into one of the abandoned chairs and covered her face with her hands. She rubbed them up and down, smushing her face until she could feel some blood return to the skin, trying to chase the exhaustion away. She had had minimal sleep for the past two weeks, always the first to rise and last to return from the hunt, and it was beginning to grate on her, emotionally and physically.

“He’s not dead.” She said angrily, boring a hole into the stone floor with her glare. “He’s not dead, I won’t _stand for it_.”

Eugene nodded, settling to the chair on her right and rubbed a hand up and down her hunched back. “I know, sunshine.” He said consolingly, “But maybe we _should_ start looking outside the kingdom, if we haven’t found him inside our borders it may be time to start broadening our net.”

Rapunzel agreed, but felt even worse at the fact. “I made the wrong call.” She moaned in despair, pressing the palms of her hands into her eyes. “I was _so sure_ it was like Cass, holding him for ransom. I thought they wouldn't have left the borders, if I was wrong and we were looking in the wrong place this whole time I’ll never forgive myself.”

“Hey, hey,” Eugene placated, “No, hey. You’re not a mind reader. You had a fifty-fifty chance at being right… the universe just happened to win this time. But now we have a way forwards, right?”  
  


“Right.” Came a third voice from the front door of the hall, one that Rapunzel knew well.

“Cass!” Rapunzel gasped in shock, bolting up from her place and rushing towards her friend. Cass was wearing a set of heavy armor, but Rapunzel didn’t hesitate to fling herself at her friend, enveloping her in the tightest hug the princess could muster.

“Hey, Raps,” Cass said softly, setting down the helmet she had been carrying onto the table. It’s covered face stared back at her, two soulless pits where the eyes should be. “I leave you guys alone for six months and it all goes to hell, doesn’t it?”

Rapunzel went a little red, but still shrugged. She couldn’t really argue with straight facts.

“What have you been doing out there?” Eugene asked, gesturing to the heavy plated armor Cassandra was wearing.

“Right now? Undercover work _Fitzherbert_.” Cass shot back, “I’ve been helping a neighboring country working towards usurping it’s king. He’s a menace to his people and he needs to be taken down. I’ve been pretending to be a guard in his palace for over two months, gathering information.”

“That’s wonderful, Cass!” Rapunzel said, “I’m glad you finally found your calling!”

Cassandra smiled at her, a genuine, happy grin that made her eyes sparkle.

“Yeah, I really have. A life of adventure has suited me well. But I didn’t come to chat and check up, and I won’t beat around the bush. I know where the kid is.”

Rapunzel tensed immediately and spluttered in shock. “You- I- _where_? You saw him? Was he okay? Cassandra, where is he?”

Cassandra backed up as Rapunzel frantically bombarded her with questions, but she’d also never seen Rapunzel so… wrecked. The princess was frazzled, tired, and pale. Eugene wasn’t much better, mind you, but Rapunzel looked like a strong wind would take her down.

“He’s in Bayangor,” Cass began, and Rapunzel looked ready to faint. “The king I’ve been trying to take down, Aldred? He’s the one that took Varian.”

“He had visited Corona a week before Varian went missing…” Rapunzel looked horrified as the pieces began to connect in her mind. “How could I not have seen it? How could I be so _stupid_?!”

Eugene looks just as devastated, staring down at his hands. “The kid was scared of him.” The man mumbled, a hand coming up to cover his mouth. “The kid was _terrified_ of him. Aldred spent the whole week he was here trying to convince Frederick to let him take Varian with him for an apprenticeship in Bayangor… but Varian didn’t want to leave Corona. We never even made the connection.”

“The vial.” Rapunzel whispered in realization. “The one Varian found. How else would Aldred get him out of the castle? By the _Sun_.” She gripped at her hair in frustration. “How could I have missed it? Varian’s been trapped with that man for two weeks and we’ve been looking in the wrong place this whole time.”

She sucked in a gasping breath, then another, and then let out a sob, dropping into a nearby chair. Cassandra was by her side in a moment, kneeling down so that Cass was looking up at her. “Hey,” Cassandra said, “Hindsight is twenty-twenty, right? You didn’t know where he was, and now you do... there’s only one way to go now, and that’s forwards. So maybe you should be focusing on packing your things and getting ready to head out with me.”

Rapunzel fixed Cassandra with a watery stare, before she laughed raggedly. “I missed you so much,” the princess laugh-sobbed, “You always know what to say.”

Cassandra would take it, subverting the breakdown for the moment. Eugene had been staring at the table since Cass had relayed her news, but at the mention of packing he stood.

“I can get supplies if you can pack, Sunshine.” Is all he said, turning and leaving the room. Rapunzel watched him go with a resigned look on her face. She turned back to Cassandra, and her face hardened into a stony anger Cass hadn’t seen in almost a year.

“Give us an hour and we’ll be ready.” She proclaimed, “I need to notify my father, and the guards. Will you wait for us?”

“Of course.” Cass responded, straightening and moving to the side as Rapunzel stood from her chair. “I’ll ditch the armor; we can go faster if we travel light.”

Rapunzel nodded once, already turning to leave the room. The princess stopped suddenly, turning back to Cassandra with an intense stare.

“Thank you for coming back, Cassandra,” Rapunzel said seriously, “I know it must have been difficult, but you’ll never know how grateful I am.”

“It was the least I could do,” Cass said, “The kid needed help. The sooner we get him away from Aldred the better.”

“Then let’s go get him.” Is all Rapunzel responds with, leaving the room with a sense of finality.

The first two weeks of Varian’s stay in Barviel Keep were oddly monotonous, for a kidnapping at least. Aldred had kept true to his word, mostly keeping Varian locked in his room so long as the boy refused to _see reason_ in his kidnapping. Three times a day the alchemist would be “escorted” from his room and down to a more casual dining room for meals, but they were nothing if not _uncomfortable_.

Aldred used mealtimes as a way to force Varian to talk with him, obviously trying to make himself seem like the good cop to the guard’s bad cop. Aldred had “snuck” him little gifts in an attempt to win the boy’s favor, books, paper and quills, hell even baked goods from the kitchen, as if he wasn’t the one keeping Varian locked away in the tower in the first place. Varian knew exactly what Aldred was trying to do, the man was trying to make Varian latch on to him as a source of comfort, an island in unsure waters.

Varian would like to think he wasn’t that naive.

And he certainly couldn’t be bribed.

Varian hadn’t really been on his _best behaviour_ as Aldred had called it. He’d made hobbies out of throwing things when people tried to get too close, trying to run whenever he saw the chance, and other “problematic” activities from Aldred’s point of view. It was because of Varian’s _behaviour_ that he still hadn’t been given shoes, or been left alone anywhere that wasn’t his room. Another thing Varian knew Aldred was doing to manipulate him, rewarding the “good” behaviour while punishing him for stepping out of line.

The guard from the first day had either left, or stopped trying to stare him down, but Varian was never sure as all their masks were the same. He legitimately couldn’t tell the difference between them, which was unnerving to say the least.

Today marked Varian’s fourteenth day in Barviel Keep. The boy stared morosely at his lunch, lamb of some sort, as Aldred continued to talk at him. The boy wasn’t even close to listening as Aldred droned on, something about weather patterns and the formation of cumulonimbus clouds.

“-And I thought that maybe we could take a walk after lunch.” Aldred said suddenly, forcing Varian to tune back in. The boy looked up from his untouched meal, locking eyes with the man in front of him.

“Where?” Varian croaked out, voice shot from the countless hours of angry shouting he’d been doing over the past two weeks. Aldred made a _hmmm_ ing noise in disapproval. Varian choked back a snarky comment, knowing better than to try. “Where, _father_?”

Maybe, if Varian was lucky, Aldred would take him outside.

Aldred smiled at Varian’s compliance. “Just around the Keep, for now. Maybe once you learn to behave we can visit the gardens. It’ll be good for you to start knowing where things are in the castle.” The man finished his meal, uncaring of Varian’s still full plate. The boy had started his hunger strike a few meals ago, but Aldred knew Varian would crack eventually. The teenager was smart enough to know that self sabotaging his health wouldn’t do much for him in the long run.

Aldred stood from the table, gesturing for Varian to do the same as servants began to frantically clear their dishes away. The boy merely glared at him, but followed as the man left the room and led him down a large hall. Two guards followed them, followed _Varian_ , closely. The boy knew that without his chemicals, without his _bag of tricks_ as Cass had called it, Varian was effectively useless in a fight, and it wasn’t exactly difficult to keep him from escaping.

Didn’t stop him from trying, though.

Aldred had a shiny new set of scratches up one arm, having gotten too close to the boy in the earlier days of Varian’s captivity. They were scabbed over by now, but the memory Varian had of digging his nails in and _dragging_ from elbow to wrist was something the boy cherished. It was almost worth being locked away in his tower for a day and a half without meals, but as the hunger kicked in Varian had started to question the decision.

Aldred led him through the cavernous hallways of Barviel Keep. The castle was massive, maybe larger than the one in Corona, but much less coherent in its design. It was obvious that the Keep had been built of additions, more and more added on as the building had developed into a fortress as opposed to a traditional castle. It was cold, Varian noticed, with his bare feet against the marble floor.

That was the single word for the Keep, to be honest, _cold_.

“Here we are,” Aldred said, stopping in a portion of the hall that opened into a wide room, almost four stories tall and covered, from ceiling to floor, in paintings. Portraits, Varian realized. Hundreds of faces stared down at the boy, making Varian feel small as his gaze tracked upwards to the large skylight embedded in the ceiling.

Aldred merely waltzed into the room without a care, sitting with grace on a circular chaise in the center of the room, covered in crushed black velvet, the middle raised to provide a backrest. Aldred gestured for Varian to join him, which the boy did hesitantly.

“These are your ancestors.” Aldred began, waving a hand to the portraits. “You are the latest in a thousand year dynasty. In the times of Demanitus and Zhan Tiri, our many greats-grandfather Geldam of Wildshores established Crowshaven and began to build Barviel Keep.”

With this Aldred gestured to a specific portrait, easily the oldest from the peeling edges of the paint on the frame. Geldam’s painting scowls, electric blue eyes glaring out from underneath his black hair. A sharp blue stripe of hair grows from near his left ear. Varian sucked in a breath when he saw it. He frantically scanned around, seeing a sea of black hair with blue stripes, a collection of icey blue eyes glaring back at him.

“My father, Kamron of Crowshaven, is here. As is my mother, Abelia. We started to include spouses a few hundred years ago.” Another portrait, this time with another bitter looking man who looks frighteningly like Aldred, and by extension Varian himself, again with that damned blue hair stripe near his temple. Kameron was not alone in his painting, Abelia stood next to him with a disapproving glare focused down on Varian.

So these were his grandparents? Or, at least two of them. Quirin had never really brought up his own parents, merely saying that they had died before Varian had been born. After the boy had learned about the dark kingdom and the black rocks, Quirin confessed that they hadn’t made it out of the kingdom during the evacuation.

“It is our tradition to put up the portraits of our lords and ladies after they die.” Aldred broke the silence again. “Someday my own portrait will hang here, as will yours, and your children's after that.” With that the man stood to his full height and walked to the farther end of the room, standing in front of a newer painting that was directly under a light. Varian followed without prompting this time, startling when he saw who it was.

Varian had only seen Aisha of Old Corona in that one particular painting that Quirin had commissioned long ago, but her likeness had been so ingrained into his memory that he recognized her on sight. This rendition, however, was a far cry from the soft, gentle painting that had hung in his childhood home.

Aisha glared down from within her painting, brown hair tied into a braid that fell down over her armored shoulders. She was bloodstained, the landscape behind her a mess of fire as a village burned. She held a sword in one hand at her hip, crossing over to near her ankle. Her mouth was pulled up in an aggressive smile, her eyes narrowed in victory. A splatter of blood crossed her pale face, making the grin seem all the more terrifying.

Varian realized, with a startle, that he never even knew her eyes were green.

In the arm not holding the sword, she clutched a swaddled infant to her chest, the little blue blanket standing out against the red flames reflecting in her armor.

“When she died I had this commissioned.” Aldred said with barely contained reverence, “She deserved to be remembered as a fierce general in her own right, not as a demure wife and homemaker.” His eyes traveled down to the infant in the painting’s arms, and his eyes turned sad.

“I thought you had died alongside her, but I didn’t know what you looked like, so we couldn’t make you a portrait of your own. This was my compromise.”

Varian was silent, staring at this new version of his mother in shock. She seemed… _terrifying_ in the portrait, a true warlord just as Aldred said she was.

“She was amazing.” The man broke the alchemist from his stupor. “She was smart, and brave, and so, _so_ , strong. We could have ruled the Seven Kingdoms if she had stayed with me, and you would have raised as a prince. Only the best, for a child of our bloodline.”

Varian’s cheeks were wet with tears as he stared up at his mother… Was she really this kind of person in life? Or was it Aldred projecting what he wanted her to be onto her memories?

“This is why I brought you home.” Aldred said, still not looking away from Aisha’s portrait. “Because you’re my son? Partially. Because you’re _her_ son? Definitely.”

“I… if you loved her so much, why did she run?” Varian stuttered out, forcing his tearful eyes from the painting. “If she loved _you_ as much as you said, why _did she run_?”

Aldred’s expression went dark, and Varian now realised that was the _wrong_ thing to say.

“You’d do well to watch your mouth, _Varian_.’ The man hissed, stalking forwards. The boy scuttled backwards in panic, nearly tripping over the black chaise as he backed into it. He scrambled around it, but it lost him precious seconds, and it was enough that Aldred was able to grab both Varian’s flailing wrists, one in each hand, and drag him back in.

“Do I _really_ need to remind you about what happens when you get lippy with me, boy?” Aldred shouted right in the frightened child’s face, violently shaking Varian’s left wrist, causing the boy’s hand, and by extension his bandaged fingers, to wave in his face. “Are you _absolutely_ sure you want to continue down this path? Because if you keep being a _brat_ I might have to escalate to breaking something else!”

With every sentence Aldred became more enraged, shaking the boy hard with each new point. Varian’s tears were still flooding from his eyes, but these were tears of fright as the boy cowered away as much as he could with wrists snagged by the aggravated man in front of him. “I’m _sorry_!” He shrieked out in terror, willing to say anything to appease the man into de-escalating. “I’m sorry, please, _father I’m sorry_!”

As if it were magic, the word managed to make Aldred pause from where he had been shaking the boy, staring at him now with a blank expression. Varian hardly noticed, sobbing with fright and shrinking back now that the man had stopped shaking him.

A sickeningly pleased smile spread across Aldred’s face as he loosened his grips on Varian’s wrists, holding them almost gently.

“Now look at what you made me do,” He chided the distressed child softly, “You’ve gone and gotten yourself hurt.”

And Aldred was right at that, Varian’s wrists were covered in red handprints. They looked like bands in his pale skin, and Varian could already tell they would develop into angry bruises over the next day. The boy sobbed in terror even now that the yelling had stopped, too worked up to calm himself down.

“Oh, my son.” Aldred said softly, releasing one of the boy’s wrists to draw a hand up and wipe at his tears. “You know I don’t mean to hurt you, but when you act like that you force me to punish you. I just want to see you grow into the best you can be. We have to make up for the lost time you spend growing soft in Corona. Iron is nothing if not forged in fire, after all.”

Varian sniffled pathetically, shuddering as his heaving breaths are the only noise filling the hall of portraits. The eyes of his ancestors glared at him on all sides, their blue gazes pinning him down and scrutinizing him from every angle. Aldred’s head tilted at him in curiosity, as if Varian was a puzzle he couldn’t wait to solve. His eyes eventually moved upwards, over the boy’s head, and to the guards who were still standing at the doorway.

“Take him to his rooms.” Aldred ordered them, “He’s in another one of his _moods_.”

The silent guards moved forwards in unison, each taking a shivering Varian by the elbow and leading the complacent boy out of the room. Eventually the sounds of Varian’s sobbing faded as the boy was escorted away.

Aldred, face still emotionless, turned back to Aisha’s portrait.

“Oh, my love.” He said morosely, “We have so much work to do.”

When the guards returned Varian to his room, a maid scurrying out at their sudden appearance, the boy couldn’t really make himself do much beyond sinking down into the chair at his desk and stare listlessly out the window behind it. This was not the first time Aldred had been abusive, hell the second conversation they ever had had ended arguably worse for Varian.

This was, however, the first time the abuse had seemed to come from a place of _anger_.

Even when Varian had drawn blood from the man, had shrieked words his dad would have boxed his ears over, hell even the first few attempts at running, none of it had cracked Aldred’s composed shell. It seemed that Aisha was a sore subject for them both, as much as it pained Varian to admit that they had something in common.

Varian had spent the last two weeks being as inconvenient a prisoner as he could be, but this was the first time his jailer had lost his temper at the boy.

The alchemist wasn’t quite sure what to do with this information.

On one hand, the volatile little shit in him demanded he kept hitting that weak point with everything he had, just to get a rise out of the man holding him prisoner. On the other, the logical side of Varian said that that was a _terrible idea_ if he wanted to escape back to Corona with all his limbs still attached.

Varian turned away from the window, unable to stare at the grey stones of the courtyard far below. He wiped at his eyes as he calmed, his attacker far away for now.

The room he’d been locked in wasn’t a dungeon by any means, but there wasn’t much to work with in terms of an escape plan. The room was a half circle, simple marble floors and high ceilings. There was a large bed, which admittedly was even softer than his bed back in Corona, covered in silk sheets. Two nightstands stood empty next to the bed; everything having been cleared out after one memorable time that Varian had thrown an oil lamp at Aldred in a rage.

Finally, there was the desk that had _also_ been cleared after his tantrum with the knight who had stared at him the first day, though the ink had indeed stained the wall near the door to Varian’s delight. _Take that_ poor unfortunate servant that had to clean up after him.

The only other thing in the room was a large fireplace, always burning as it was even colder in the tower than it was in the main Keep. The boy went over to the fire to throw another log in, feeling the draft now that he had calmed down.

It was then that he noticed that the maid, in her rush to leave when the guards had unexpectedly shown up, had left a cast iron fire poker behind.

This. This could work.

Varian’s eyes flicked to the door, and back to the poker. He had about two hours before dinner, before someone would come to get him unless Aldred was sick of him for the day. Varian bent down and grasped the handle of the poker, testing its weight. Heavier than the blunted swords Eugene made him practice with, but doable.

Varian wasn’t much of a fighter, but when push came to shove he could employ the element of surprise to his advantage.

Giving the poker a test swing, he nodded to himself before creeping over to hide against the wall near the door.

_And now we wait_ , he thought to himself, settling in and getting ready for his chance to strike.

It was three hours before Varian heard the _click_ of the lock being opened. Tensing up the boy raised the poker high over his head, slinking into the shadows the doorframe gave him. A guard walked in, a plate of what Varian would assume to be dinner in their hand. With a small yell he brought the poker down onto the guard’s head, and they let out a grunt as they collapsed, unconscious. The plate in their hand clattered to the floor, the food splattering everywhere.

Varian was out the door before it hit the ground.

The guards had been getting careless, he could see it, as they all knew the boy wasn’t able to fight any one of them off. They’d stopped coming for him in pairs over a week ago, so long as Aldred wasn’t around to see it.

Hopefully no one would notice their unconscious friend until Varian was long gone.

The boy bolted down the spiral stairs as quietly as he could, forgoing speed for silence. His bare feet actually helped this time, as shoes would have made his footsteps echo all around the Keep. He needed to stay as undetected as possible, once things kicked off he wouldn’t have long to get himself somewhere safe. Varian had a vague map of the layout of Barviel Keep in his mind, nothing too detailed but enough for him to remember where the occasional exit was.

Once he hit ground level Varian kept to the shadows, his past in Corona coming back to help once again. He hid behind everything he could, slowly working his way towards the closest exit, specifically the one in the front hall.

He paused, however, at a frantic yelling coming from the library (and _by the Sun_ did he want a peek in there), and snuck to the cracked door to listen in.

“-do this, Sire,” an older woman’s voice was panicky as she spoke, “It’s… it’s _inhumane_ , we haven’t used the Vinculum Crown in generations, and for good reason! If you use it on that boy he’ll be nothing but an empty shell! A puppet, for you to order around and control. I won’t let you do this.”

“Ah, Meave, you old _bat_ ,” Varian tensed as Aldred’s voice drifted from the library as well, “That’s exactly the point, if the boy won’t comply we’ll _make him_.”

“And when you’re dead?” The woman spat back, “What happens to him then?”

“The Crown is a temporary solution while I break him down.” Aldred said, and Varian felt a churning in his stomach. Whatever this crown did, Varian wanted no part of it, but the boy was forced to tune back in as Aldred began to speak again. “I want it done as soon as possible.”

“It’ll take two weeks,” The woman responded bluntly, “A curse that strong will take time to recharge after laying dormant for so long.”

Varian can feel the air catch a chill.

“That long?” Aldred said, “I think that’s a _gross_ overestimation, Meave. As _soon_ as possible, or it’ll be your head.”

Varian heard footsteps approaching the door and quickly scurried into a safer hiding place as Aldred leaves the library. The man stormed past Varian’s hiding place, the boy holding his breath until he heard Aldred’s angry footsteps echo away. He slowly uncurled his hands from where they had been clinging to the fire poker with a white knuckled grip.

Thank the Sun he was getting out of here tonight, if he wasn’t he’d only have two weeks before _whatever_ Aldred was planning would come to him. Varian let out a shaky breath as he slipped from his hiding place, slowly resuming his creeping through the palace.

He found himself sneaking through the hall of portraits, their gazes all the more creepy in the lower light of the evening. Varian took a passing glance at his mother’s painting but shook his head. He already got distracted once, he can’t afford to do so again. He hurried through, skirting through a few more halls until he found the dining room where he and Aldred had been having meals, then onwards even more towards the front hall of the Keep.

Finally, he could see it. Varian let out a huff as he saw the large oak door that had slammed shut on him two weeks ago. The boy pried it open with all of his strength, slipping out and into the courtyard beyond.

Varian greedily sucked in his first taste of fresh air in two weeks, looking up to the evening sunset. He’d never complain about the sun again, he swore it. He let his fire poker sink down a little, the point of it nearly brushing the ground.

The courtyard was abandoned, save for a large murder of crows that had taken residence on the cobblestones, cawing to themselves and hopping around.

Varain tried to creep around the birds, but one of them eventually got startled, sending the whole lot of them shrieking and flying upwards. Varian was forced to throw his arms up to protect his face from the battering of wings as the birds scattered, and by the time they had finished a figure stood between Varian and the open gate.

“Oh, Varian.” Aldred cooed, mock pouting at him. “Are we really going to have to do this _again_? How many times are you going to run, I've caught you the last four times.”

“I feel like it’s going to be at least five,” Varian said again _speaking before thinking_.

Aldred fixed him with a look that is somehow half angry and half amused.

“I keep seeing Aisha in you.” He said with a hint of frustration, “And I must say the sass is much less funny when you’re the target.”

“Sorry to disappoint,” The boy shot back, holding his fire poker up higher in an attempt to be threatening.

Aldred’s eyes went to the poker, and the anger disappeared into amusement.

“And what exactly are we planning to do with that?” The man asked with a laugh. The teenager scowled and hefted the poker even higher, reeling it back as if it were a baseball bat.

“Don’t really know yet,” He said, trying to keep his shaking voice under control. “Guess we’re going to find out.”

Aldred merely huffed and stalked towards the boy. Varian let out a yell as he swung the poker with all his might, but it was quickly caught by Aldred. The man simply stuck his hand out and caught the iron bar, wrenching it out of the boy’s hands with a rough tug.

“See, this is your problem, Varian.” The man continued to back the boy away, Varian now forced on the defensive without his weapon. “You push, and you push, and you _push,_ until something snaps, and then you _whine_ about how I’m the villain? You keep digging yourself this hole, if you just came to see things my way we wouldn’t be having these problems!”

With that he swung the poker back at Varian, striking the boy in the side. The teenager let out a shriek as white-hot pain exploded from his ribs, immediately falling to the ground to huddle over his new injury.

Aldred wasn’t done, however, forcing the boy onto his back, a firm boot planted on the child’s neck.

“There is _nothing_ waiting for you in Corona, Varain.” The feral king spat down at him, slowly putting pressure down. “No one has come yet, and no one _will_. If anyone tries to take you from this castle I will kill them where they stand. Now make this easier, and _obey_.”

Varian gasped as he squirmed under the boot keeping him pinned. His hands scrabbled at the boot holding him down to no avail, and he could feel every breath being cut short by the pressure.

“I won’t,” The boy gasped quietly, his voice stolen.

Aldred’s face darkened even more, putting more pressure on the boy’s throat.

Varian couldn't breathe.

The boy tried to gasp for air, but came up short every time. Black spots danced across his vision as his thoughts began to swim with the lack of oxygen.

“I’m sick of trying to play nice, son,” Aldred mocked as Varain teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. “I’ve been nothing but hospitable, and you _still_ insist on causing a fuss.”

Varian couldn’t help but to bring up his broken fingers, bandaged and splinted as they had been for the past two weeks, and waved them cheekily while meeting Aldred’s eyes dead on.

And then the alchemist passed out, his head making an unsavoury _thunk_ against the cobblestones.

Aldred gave a frustrated huff and released the pressure, turning to the guards that had been watching the exchange. “Take him back up to his room,” the King muttered, “And make sure his ribs are tended to.”

He nudged Varain’s unconscious body with the toe of his boot, letting out another huff of breath. One guard scooped up the child, whisking him back inside. Aldred, now alone, chucked the poker to the other side of the courtyard and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Two weeks,” He muttered with conviction. “Two weeks and it’s over.”

And with that, he stalked back inside, slamming the large oak door behind him with an echoing _bang_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aldred may be the shittiest human being in the room but at least he drinks his Respect Women Juice. 
> 
> Oh yeah also if y'all want some Varigo content I was thinking of writing some 👀👀👀


	4. The Shore’s Eroding Beneath my Feet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel and Co. set off to go get their lost alchemist. Varian has a bad day.

The road from Corona towards the border of Bayangor was a peaceful, well-kept section of path, as a majority of the major trade highways were. Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra had made quick work of getting out of Corona and into Bayangor, the two-day travel shortening to one and a half days as Max and Fidella pushed themselves to go as fast as they could.

It was day three, already a day’s worth of travel through Bayangor’s outer country, and Rapunzel had ordered an early night for them all, giving the horses time to rest and the humans time to hash out a plan.

They’d set up camp in the woods beyond the main road, mostly inconspicuous. Hopefully it would be enough to give them time to talk as they all settled around their campfire for the night.

“Was Varian okay last time you saw him?” Rapunzel asked Cass warily, scared of the answer. “I mean I’m sure he wasn’t _okay_ , but was he unhurt?”

Cass cringed a bit but answered honestly.

“He was in once piece,” She said with trepidation, “Had a couple of broken fingers-” Rapunzel gasped at that, but Cassandra pushed on, “-and the knights were saying Aldred had broken them on the way in. The kid still had his spark though. He caught me staring at him and threw an inkpot at me, screamed at me to get lost.”

Eugene laughed at that, stirring their cookpot casually. “Yep, there’s our Varian.”

Cassandra smirked at that, but let her gaze fall to the fire. “Do you two know why Aldred took him?” She asked, focusing on sharpening her sword. She refused to look either of them in the eye, knowing the devastation on their faces would snap her resolve.

They deserved to know the whole truth.

“We have theories, but nothing solid.” Rapunzel responded, fixing her with a look. “Do- do you know why? Did Aldred say?”

“Varian’s his son.”

Eugene let out a loud _ha_ at that, falling back against the log he’d been sitting against with a _thump_.

“So what was Quirin? Chopped liver? We already know who Varian’s dad was.” The man said with confidence. “If Aldred was his father, then _why_ would Varian be in Old Corona in the first place?”

Rapunzel went pale at the implications, but still looked like she had her doubts. Cass knew it was a hell of a leap, going from _hey your friend was kidnapped_ to _hey you’re friend’s stuck in the custody battle from hell and is also adopted_. The raven-haired woman kept sharpening her sword, waiting for them to calm down a bit before she continued.

“Raps, you won’t remember this, but about sixteen years ago the Bayan’s queen disappeared without a trace. Everyone thought Aldred killed her, but he demanded that Corona opened the borders and allowed troops to cross to look for her. Frederick allowed it, hoping that maybe they’d find you in their searches.”

Eugene scoffed, “Yeah, but they never found their queen, she’d vanished off the face of the Earth. Everyone knows that. And what does that have to do with the kid?”

Cass fixed a glare at him, “I’m getting to it _Fitzherbert_ , let me finish. Aldred never told the other countries this, but it’s common knowledge in Bayangor that his queen was pregnant when she vanished.”

“Does Aldred think that Varian was… is their baby?” Rapunzel whispered in horror, her eyes nearly popping out of her skull. Cass nodded, and Rapunzel looked downright sick.

“Why would he think that,” Eugene piped up again, “Because of the alchemy thing? Plenty of kids like alchemy… now granted not as many have Varian’s talents, but that can’t be the only reason.”

“It’s the hair stripe.” Cass said tartly, “It’s a mark of Bayan royalty. Varian himself told me it was natural; he doesn’t dye it. Aldred has one too, but the way he slicks his hair back hides it most of the time. Legend says the family was cursed with it after making a bad deal with a wizard a few thousand years ago, but some think the royal blood is just that strong. Every single King or Queen by blood has had that stripe. And now so does Varian.”

_That_ shut Eugene up.

”You… do you think that Varian is his…” Rapunzel trailed off, fear evident in her eyes.

“Honestly? I don’t know. Aldred certainly thinks so.” Cass sighed back. “He’s got the kid locked up tight in his fortress, Barviel Keep, up in the main tower. I got to you as fast as I could, so I only saw the two of them in the same room for a few minutes but Raps…”

Cass trailed off as she stared deep into the princess’s eyes.

“Raps, he’s forcing the kid to call him father. That’s why Aldred broke Varian’s fingers, the kid refused to betray Quirin’s memory like that. But Aldred’s already breaking him down.”

The brunette sucked in a horrified breath, and Eugene straightened up from his spot on the ground. Silence permeated the forest, save for the crackling of the fire in the center of the three of them. Eugene halfheartedly stirred their dinner, but gave up in the face of his own thoughts.

Rapunzel clutched at her satchel in despair, startling when the sound of clinking glass broke her from her stupor. Reaching in she pulled out one of the bomb’s Varian had given to her the day he’d been kidnapped, the colour a bright, happy pink.

She held it close, her hands becoming claws around the gift as she held it to her heart.

“He must be so scared.” She choked out tearily, “He’s all alone with that terrible man, and we’re still so far away from him… He must be so _scared_.”

Rapunzel had thought she’d run out of tears over the past few days, those she had had dried up in her determination to get moving towards Bayangor. Yet here they were again, making the firelight and the faces of her friends mix into one big, multicolored blur.

Eugene reached for her, holding one of her hands gently in silent support.

“We’ll get to him.” The man said softly, “He’ll be fine. If Aldred thinks Varian’s his… his son then we can hope that Varian will at least be treated with civility.”

“Aldred broke his _fingers_!” Rapunzel wailed, her eyes snapping shut as she shook her head. “He kidnapped Varian, _our Varian_ , how is any of this _civil_?!”

Eugene had nothing to argue with, and simply shuffled to her side, pulling Rapunzel in so she could cry into his shoulder. Cass watched on with sorrow, still a little awkward after the last time she’d seen them. She’d never really been close to Varian, but seeing the couple so distressed for him twinged her heart nonetheless.

And from what she had seen, however brief, of Aldred’s treatment of the kid, she knew that Varian didn’t deserve any of it. Old enemies or not, old _friends_ or not, no one deserved what Aldred was no doubt putting the kid through. Her mind unwillingly thought back to Varian’s terrified face as Aldred had taunted him in the tower room, and Cassandra had been useless to help him without exposing herself and getting them both caught.

“I’m going to go patrol,” She said suddenly, standing and snatching up her sword. “You can never be too careful.”

Eugene watched with a muted expression as she stalked into the darkness of the surrounding forest. He pulled Rapunzel closer to him, and settled down for a long evening.

Bayangor was a bleak kingdom. It always seemed perpetually cloudy, the oppressive grey tone of the sky throwing everything into a muted colour tone. If anything ever did manage to root itself in the barren earth it typically died early on, or it would grow gnarled and angry. Cass had grown used to it in the past six months of living in Bayangor, but to Rapunzel and Eugene it was quite the transition from the bright sun and lush forests of Corona.

It was day four of travel for the trio, and Cass had recommended they stop by a nearby town for supplies. Rapunzel had agreed, and together the three wandered into a small trading village Cass had said was called New Mastha.

It wasn’t exactly a great place to stop, the market was bleak and barren. New Mastha, Cass said, had once been a bustling trade city when Corona and Bayangor had been closer allies with more open trade, but after Aldred’s wife had run the man had turned bitter, closing his connections with the neighboring countries.

For a kingdom such as Bayangor, which relied heavily on being a trade-based hub, it had spelled disaster for her people.

The three walked through the bleak town, the locals side-eyed Rapunzel and Eugene as much as they could without being overt, and many people moved from their path. Cassandra, however, knew many in this village, as she had stopped there many times before.

When the trio broke for lunch at a local tavern, the barkeep had turned when the door opened and let out a mighty bellow, her hands slamming down onto the bar in front of her.

“Cassandra, you little devil! Haven’t seen you in just shy of three months!”

Cass merely laughed as they approached, submitting as the busty woman leaned over the bar and drew her into a bearhug. “Hi Alida,” Cass choked out, blushing heavily.

“Don’t you just _hi_ me darling, introduce me to your little friends!”

Alida was a bubbly, older woman, beautiful and brash. Bar life suited her immensely, especially with how she was _built like a linebacker_. The woman was nearly the height of Eugene himself, and easily outweighed him in muscle alone. She carried herself gracefully, weaving in and out of tables, fixing things in the quiet of the between-meals-lull. Her long, dark brown hair was nearly waist length, even done up in a ponytail. She served them drinks quickly, with the practiced grace of someone who had been doing the same thing for decades.

After introductions, the three began to settle as Alida began to chatter.

“Faye, my wife, will be back from the market soon!” Alida said happily, “Oh she’ll be so happy to see you, Cass, she was just asking about if I’d heard anything about you and seemed so _sad_ when I said I hadn’t heard anything, but I told her, do you know what I said? I said, _listen my little honeybee, if we don’t hear anything it’s good news, because that means-_ ”

“Alida,” Cass cut her off with a smile, apparently used to this. “I was wondering about if you’d heard any rumours from Crowshaven lately.”

Alida’s face was still bright, but the expression became pinched.

“Some things,” She said, not looking up from where she was rubbing at a specifically stubborn patch on the bar. “Nothing good.”

“Have you heard anything about a boy? A teenager, black hair, blue eyes?” Rapunzel cut in, frantic for any news of Varian.

“I- yes how did you know?” Alida seemed shocked, her grey eyes widening. “I know _everything_ that happens in Bayangor and I only just learned about it.”

“He’s my friend, he’s my _family_. I need to find him.”

Cass put her hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder, forcing her back down onto the barstool.

“We’re looking for a boy who was kidnapped from Corona.” Cass explained. “We know he was in Barviel Keep a week and a half ago, but we haven’t heard anything since then. I can make it worth your time.” With that, Cass holds up a few gold pieces between her fingers.

Alida merely brought one of her hands up and gently pushed the money back to Cass, her massive hand dwarfing Cassanda’s without effort. 

“For you, after what you did for my wife, my information is yours.” She said in a serious voice. “Your boy is still in the Keep.”

Rapunzel let out a breath she wasn’t sure she had been holding.

“So he’s alive?” She asked hopefully, “Did anyone mention if he was okay?”

Alida looked sad. “You may want to leave the room, hun, if this boy’s as close to you as you say. I can’t say it’s good news.”

Rapunzel’s heart dropped, but she stayed put. Alida nodded in acceptance, and began.

“It’s mostly rumours, of course, but a contact of mine in one of the Crowshaven pubs overheard a few of the off-duty guards talking. They said that the king had found his missing child, the one that disappeared with Queen Aisha.”

“Varian’s mother’s name was Aisha,” Eugene said in dawning horror. “He told me once, when I saw her portrait in his lab.”

Alida looked even more grim at that, but continued.

“The guards were saying that Aldred is obsessed with making the boy into his perfect heir. They were complaining about having to keep catching him when he escaped, and one was supposedly uncomfortable with how Aldred is apparently resorting to violence against the boy when he acts out of line.”

Rapunzel was tense at that, because hearing from a good friend that Varian was being abused, and hearing it from a veritable stranger, were two very different things.

“Other than that, there wasn’t much else,” Alida said sadly, “Word’s been pretty tight about anything concerning the goingings on at Barviel for years, but since they brought the child in, any gossiping was strictly forbidden. I’m sorry I couldn’t give you more to work with.”

Cass looked like she was pondering the information, her eyebrows drawn together in thought. Rapunzel could see the gears turning in her head, but forced herself to turn back to Alida.

“We’re grateful either way,” Rapunzel said honestly, “It’s a relief to hear he’s still alive.”

Alida offered her a small smile and resumed wiping down the bar.

“Now,” She changed her tone to one much more jovial, “I want to hear about how miss Cassandra managed to make friends with Coronian royals, now _that_ sounds like a story worth telling.”

When Varian had woken up in his tower once again, he’d rolled over onto his unhurt side and cried.

His escape had been going perfectly and yet he _still_ ended up caught and beaten and put back where Aldred said he belonged. The alchemist’s situation was growing more and more hopeless as the days went on, with escape after escape being thwarted with very little effort on Aldred’s part. Varian, to be honest, was running out of ideas. Hell, he’d run out of _good_ ideas a week ago, he was already scraping the bottom of the barrel here.

It had been four days since his disastrous escape attempt, and the thought still stung. Varian had been left to his sulking for a full day’s time, before _three_ guards had escorted him down for his meals once again.

It was back to the routine, it seemed, save for one detail.

“I think you’re getting bored, is the problem.” Aldred had said over breakfast, on the morning of the second day after Varian’s escape. “You’re like me, we go crazy if we have nothing to do all day. Books and your little drawings are fun, but you and I are the type to need something with a little more meat to sink our teeth into.”

“I’m not like you, father.” Varian said, hastily stabbing at a piece of egg. The name had started feeling almost natural to the boy; after the disaster of a day in the hall of portraits Varian had finally given up _that_ particular struggle, opting to call Aldred by his name in his thoughts alone.

“Ah, no, you’ve certainly got Aisha’s spirit in you, but don’t think I can’t see a little of myself as well. It takes two to tango, after all.”

Varian’s face scrunched up at that, not really wanting to have this conversation over breakfast.

“Either way,” Aldred continued. “You’re bored, I can tell. I have a project for you to work on, I want to see where the spots in your education are.”

This is what Varian had been afraid of when he’d first gotten snatched.

“You want me to build weapons,” Varian said in a small voice, “Don’t you, father?”

Aldred scoffed at that. “Obviously.” The man said bluntly as he stabbed a piece of meat with his fork. “What else is there worth building?”

And it was here that Varian found himself, two days after that conversation, stuck in a laboratory and peering over a set of blueprints. They were mostly unlabeled as to _what_ exactly they were building, but when Varian peered over them he could see the complexity of the machine was on par with his own work, if not surpassing it.

There were flaws, however. Varian could see places where the fuel cells would overheat, potentially exploding if put under too much pressure. The use of steel for the gears would make it all the more difficult for the machine to get going. Hell, even the machine itself was overly large, wasting materials.

Not that Varian would say anything.

“We’ll finish this part by the end of the day.” Aldred announced as he tinkered with a set of gears, the man seeming much more at home than Varian had ever seen him before. He almost seemed human, tucked away in this little alcove. Away from the world, from his kingdom, Aldred seemed content as the two of them tinkered with the machine they were building, sitting across from each other.

Varian didn’t believe it for a second.

The boy merely nodded as he adjusted the tightness of a bolt. The metal creaked warningly, but held strong. Aldred fixed the boy with an expectant look, and Varian sighed.

“Yes, father, I agree.” He muttered, turning back down to his side of the project. This was easily the worst part of being in the laboratory with Aldred- this forced comradery. The casualness that Aldred was trying to project was ruined by the fact that Varian knew he was constantly standing on a knife’s edge. One wrong move and lord knows what the man would do to him, surrounded by chemicals and sharp instruments.

Aldred doesn’t seem phased by his lack of enthusiasm, knowing by now not to expect it.

“We’ll build the power cells next,” The man continued, idly spinning the gears of his contraption to check all the teeth were aligned. “And maybe after that we’ll work on the focuser.”

“Yes, father.”

Aldred rolled his eyes, setting the machine piece down. “You’re becoming a bloody parrot.” The man grumped, “Just repeating what I’ve told you. Where’d your _spark_ go, my boy?”

Varian’s aching body had something to do with it, the alchemist would assume. His ribs certainly smarted, and even though his fingers were healing nicely they still had another week before they could come out of the splints. Let alone the bruises on his wrists, and the new, purpling one on his neck.

Oh, Varian knew _exactly_ where his spark had gone.

“Sorry, father.” Was all he came back with, “Must be tired.”

Aldred merely fixed him with a _look_ , but didn’t push. Hopefully the man was self-aware enough to know why Varian had been keeping quiet since his last escape attempt. He fiddled with some sort of empty fuel cell, turning it in his hand to watch the light glint off it.

“I have a question for you,” Aldred said into the silence of the lab. “About your name.”

Varian’s brows scrunched in confusion, but he shrugged his consent to be asked anyway.

“Do you know who named you, between Aisha and the Knight?”

Varian paused, his hands stilling. Wracking his mind, he couldn’t come up with an answer.

“I don’t know,” He said honestly, “It never came up.”

Aldred seemed to know the answer before it was said, and his face twisted into something frustrated. “Your mother and I were going to name you Silas, if you were a boy.” He mused, still twirling the small cell. “After my grandfather. A good, strong, traditional Bayan name. It means _destined for greatness._ You would have been Abelia if you were a girl.”

Varian stays silent, not waiting for more but afraid to speak. Last time they had discussed his mother things had gone _poorly_ after all.

“I wonder if the Knight had something to do with the change. Varian is a traditional name from the Dark Kingdom, after all.”

Varian… hadn’t known that. Quirin had never told Varian why he had been named the way he was, but of course Varian had never thought to ask. So many questions should have been asked, but with Quirin dead they would never have answers.

“It means _born into love_ ,” Aldred muttered with disdain, setting the fuel cell down forcefully. “Aisha was never one for such sentiments. I doubt that was the name she would have picked for you, even if she had been trying to hide you by changing it from what we had intended.”

Varian could hear his heart rate start to rise as the man in front of him became more irate. His hands tensed up, and he could feel himself start to pale. Aldred didn’t notice the boy’s distress, continuing on with his train of thought.

“Why would she let someone else name you?” He said bitterly to himself, “And with a name from a country that wasn’t ours. She had to spite me in _everything_ didn’t she? Ran away with you, _stole_ you from me, and tried to wipe away any sense of your bloodlines. Hid you away with some _farmer_ as if that were a worthy home for someone of our family-”

“My dad was _more than worthy_!” Varian yelled, slamming his small hands down upon the table. Everything gave a satisfying rattle, shaking with the table at Varian’s aggression. “He was a good man and an even better father! He _loved_ me, and I loved him, which is more than I could ever say for you!”

The boy shook as he realized what he’d done. The rage was still there, of course it was, ever boiling under the surface of Varian’s skin. This was only the second time that Aldred had brought up Quirin’s existence at all, let alone the man’s relationship with Varian. But Varian was nothing if not smart, and seeing the way that Aldred had tensed up, the boy quickly understood that he had made a _very_ big mistake.

“Is that what you think?” Aldred’s tone was quiet, dangerously so. “You really think that all it takes to be a good parent is for you to _love each other_? Don’t be childish, Varian.”

The man stands from where he had been seated, the stool clattering to the ground from the force of it. Aldred leaned over the table, inches from the boy’s face.

“You were raised below your means, with a single father who didn’t understand you. You were surrounded by idiots and bumpkins, who either judged you for being better than them or were _jealous_. Your mother _abandoned you_ just like she abandoned me. Being a parent is making sure your children grow to become the strongest they can, and _damn_ the consequences. Quirin raised you to be weak, and cowardly, and a _slave_ to those stupider than you-”

“You’re wrong!” Varian screamed back, getting just as much into Aldred’s face, Varian’s stool falling down as well as he forced himself to stand. Two sets of blue eyes glared at each other, both alight in the flames of anger. “She didn’t abandon me, she _saved me_! If we’d stayed I would be just like you are right now, cold, and angry, and _cruel_!”

Aldred reeled for the whole of two seconds, honestly looking shocked at the boy’s outburst. The shock, however, abated and left only rage in its place. His eyes narrowed, and he shoved the table away from between the two of them with a great _crash_. Chemicals and machine parts went flying, scattering onto the floor in a flurry of noise. Varian stood his ground, refusing to cower as Aldred stalked forwards and grabbed him by the chin.

“Someday.” Aldred hissed, “Someday, you’re going to thank me for this. For plucking you out of Corona and bringing you _home_ , where you can thrive-”

“For kidnapping me and keeping me locked away in a cage like an _animal_ -”

“-For making you into a _prince_ -”

“-For killing my _father_ -”

“ _I am your father_!” Aldred finally snapped, using his grasp on Varian to roughly throw the boy to the ground. The alchemist yelped as the side with the broken ribs hit the ground first, followed closely by his broken fingers as the boy threw his hands out to stop his descent. Varian looked up at the man in defiance, expecting to be soundly reprimanded for fighting back, but Aldred merely stared down at him and laughed.

“There’s the spark.” The man spat, “There’s Aisha’s _ghost,_ come back to haunt me.”

Varian kept silent, quietly fuming on the floor.

“But do you know why I indulge you in these tantrums, my son?” Aldred looked almost delighted as he towered over the child. “Because I know that they won’t be forever. In a week and a half’s time, any fight in you will be gone, and you’ll be nothing but a moldable young mind for me to sculpt.”

“Try it and see what happens,” The boy bit out, refusing to let go of his anger.

“I know you overheard me speaking with Meave, on your little _outing_. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Vinculum Crown?” Aldred cut himself off with a chuckle, “What am I saying, of course not. One of our ancestors had the same problem with his own daughter as I am with you. His solution was the Crown. It’s cursed, obviously, with one of the strongest spells we could create.”

Varian felt himself suck in a breath as he thought back to his overheard conversation in the library. Snippets of the conversation flew through his head, _it’s inhumane, nothing but an empty shell,_ and the kicker, _if the boy won’t comply we’ll make him_.

His heart fell through the floor.

“What- what does it do?” He asked angrily, trying and failing to keep the fear from his voice.

“I heard you had a run in with the Dark Kingdom’s Mind Trap,” Aldred said bitterly, “We have a similar creation, in the form of the Vinculum Crown. One of our many great grandmothers fancied herself a free spirit, and tried to escape. Her father’s response was to curse one of her crowns to overrule the wearer’s will, so they will only obey their blood parents.”

Oh. Oh Varian could see where this was going.

“Granted it’s more of a temporary solution at this stage,” Aldred mused, seeming to finally let go of his rage. “But it will be enough to keep your _episodes_ like this under control. Once you’re finally settled in and see that this is where you belong, we can take it off.”

With that the man bent down and grabbed the boy by the wrists, Varian limply going with him as he was lifted to his feet. Aldred took a gleeful look at Varian’s fearful expression and turned to the guards stationed outside the room.

“Take him back to his room,” Aldred said, “I don’t think he’s up for working anymore today.”

When they came and motioned to grab Varian’s arms, the boy waved them off, already numbly beginning to walk towards his tower.

The guards had left the alchemist alone once he was back in his room, as they did every time he was put back in his prison. Varian sat softly down onto the bed, his hands fisting in the silk sheets. He had a week and a half to figure out what he was going to do to escape. The time limit made everything much worse, in Varian’s opinion, the situation seeming all the more dire with a ticking clock attached to it.

Before, if he had failed to escape he was merely smacked around a little and the status returned to normal the next day. But now? Now, if he failed the next attempt, he was done. Kaput. Mind-trapped into being a perfect, _mindless_ , little prince for Aldred to play family with.

“One last chance,” Varian muttered, looking around his room once again for anything to be useful. After the last mistake no maids had dared to leave anything behind in his rooms, and Varian hadn’t even “earned” shoes yet let alone anything to go in the desk or nightstands.

The alchemist sighed in despair, leaning back to lie on the bed. His bare feet kicked idly as he stared up at the stone ceiling, counting the stones as he tried to make his brain come up with _something_. He ran his fingers up the silk sh-

Wait.

Silk.

Silk had an extremely high tensile strength. Higher than steel, about half as high as aramid filaments. It could get up to 2000 MPa, depending on a few factors.

More than enough to hold Varian’s megre weight.

The gears quickly began turning again, the boy dashing for one of the windows. Varian shoved the desk out of the way, looking down into the window. The view was of the courtyard, and Varian knew that even if he tore the sheets into strands and tied them together he’d never reach the ground floor. Gazing down the tower’s wall, however, he _could_ see a decorative ledge about twenty meters down from the window, maybe fifty more below that being the hard cobblestones.

And a little ways from the ledge was a window, placed oh so nicely in a neighboring wall.

If Varian could get down to that ledge, and through the window, he’d be able to make another break for it.

“One last chance,” He whispered to himself, backing away from the window and descending upon the unassuming sheets.

“One last chance,” As he began to rip the sheets from the bed, and the cover from the duvet.

“One last chance,” As the bedsheets were formed into a makeshift rope.

“One last chance,” Varian desperately used the desk chair to shatter the window, sending shards of glass plummeting into the courtyard below. The blankets were tied to the bed frame, the other end tossed out the window. Even with all the fabric he had, it still only just reached the ledge.

“One last chance,” And Varian was out the window and slowly scaling down the sheer wall of the tower.

This was easily the most dangerous escape he’d tried, but it was also his last shot. If this didn’t work the alchemist was done for. Even if Rapunzel figured out where he was and came for him, she wouldn’t know what to do, wouldn't know to break the spell unless Aldred told her. Hell, if Aldred had full control he could force Varian into chasing them off or, even worse, hurting them.

His mind filled with guilt at the thought of being unwillingly used as a weapon against his friends, of his machines and inventions being used for evil _again_. Of being forced to say things he didn’t mean.

The boy’s bare feet did more for clinging to the side of the tower than he thought they would, digging into the small grooves between the massive stones that made up Barviel Keep. Varian kept a firm grasp on the blanket rope as he slowly shuffled down the wall, determined not to look down.

It wasn’t that he was _scared_ of heights, per-se, Varian just had a healthy appreciation of them after being thrown from one too many towers, airships, _etc…_

So no, no looking down.

Varian’s arms began to ache around halfway down, and another few meters past there he got the scare of a lifetime as one of his feet slipped and he was sent swinging in the wind for a second. Once reganining his footing, and _maybe_ after screaming bloody murder for a couple of seconds afterwards, Varian took a deep breath, and forced himself to continue down.

At last he felt stone beneath his feet, and carefully adjusted his weight onto the ledge. It was about a foot wide, sticking out from the flat sides of the tower. Varian was forced to shove his back up against the wall for support as the winds picked up, his hair immediately going haywire. He let out a shuddery breath, unable to stop himself from looking down and seeing how far away the ground still was. From up here he could see the sprawling city of Crowshaven surrounding the castle. The Coronian capital and Crowshaven had one thing in common, they were both built in the highly defensible position that was _on top of an island_. 

Varian knew now, from talks with Aldred, that great-whatever grandpa Geldam-of-who-cares built Barviel Keep to be a fortress, impenetrable and foreboding.

Out in the distance, he could see the beginnings of a gnarled forest, but as soon as he laid eyes on it a strong gust of wind sent him cowering back into the stone, slamming his eyes shut.

Oh, by the _Sun_ this was a terrible plan.

With slightly wobbly legs he began to shuffle towards the window, desperate for solid flooring under his feet, but as he turned towards it he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Seriously,” Varian grumbled at Aldred, who leaned out the window Varian had been headed towards. “I barely got out this time.”

“Mmm...not your best work.” Aldred shot back, leaning almost casually on the windowsill. “You do realize that hanging yourself out the window is a _little_ conspicuous, right?” The man rested his chin on his hand, his elbow on the sill.

“Now how’s about you come on inside, huh? No more of this.”

Varian shuddered at the tone, staring back out to the horizon. His last shot had gone down in flames before it had even started, and he knew that if he went back to Aldred now, it was over.

Kaput.

_Done._

If he went back inside now, he’d assuredly never see Corona again, not his friends, not his lab, not his _father_. This was make or break. If he went back in, Varian was essentially a dead man walking for as long as Aldred decided. He’d be nothing more than a puppet, at the mercy of a brutal, _awful_ man.

Varian could feel himself start to lean forwards, out towards the skyline. If he jumped, it would save countless innocents. Without Varian the machine would fail, he knew that, but something inside still screamed at him not to do it. Whatever the man was building, it was obviously terrible. Knowing the absolute psychopath that Aldred was, there was no way it was anything other than a weapon.

Aldred lazily held out a hand to him, his face stoic.

“No more of this, Varian. No more. Come inside.”

If he just let himself fall, would it hurt? Hitting the cobblestones at terminal velocity certainly seemed like a foolproof way to die, but would it _hurt_?

The boy let out a keening noise, his hands like claws against the grey stone behind him.

He was selfish. He deserved everything Aldred did to him, if he refused to make a sacrifice for the good of hundreds of innocents. He could prevent so much suffering, right here, right now, but he resisted.

Varian did not want to die.

But as bleak as his future looked, he wasn’t sure if he wanted to live either.

Varian shook his head. The wind howled as he stared one more time out to the direction he knew Corona was, so far south that he couldn't even see the border. Would Rapunzel and Eugene ever find out where he was? He knew they would stop at nothing to find him, as they had when he’d been taken by Cassandra, but what would they find when they did?

Was a life as a husk of his former self, a puppet for a feral king, really worth living?

_Varian was so tired._

With a distressed sigh, the alchemist shuffled over to father, taking the man’s offered hand. The boy allowed himself to be tugged back into the darkness of Barviel Keep, the light disappearing the minute he was forced inside.

With a deafening roar, the shadows reared up and swallowed him whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all, happy Wednesday! Welcome back to the angst parade, I'll be your guide! Lotta conversations in this one, but hopefully the ending made up for it! 
> 
> Also this fic does in fact have a playlist to go with it, can't promise it's good, can't even promise it's not terrible since I have shit taste in music, but if you want some atmosphere it does exist. Just search her up on spotify, same name as the fic. 
> 
> To those of you who are noting the parallels to the OG movie storyline, 👌👌👌 thanks for confirming I'm not completely incompetent as an author y'all the real Gs


	5. Swept up in the Current

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allies come in all shapes and sizes, but the enemy is ever the same.

The port city of Geldam’s Point was just as bleak as New Mastha had been, but it was decidedly more populated. When Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra had arrived they’d been sucked into the hustle of the large city, nearly losing each other in the crowds. Eventually they managed to escape the busy main streets, slipping into one of the side streets to make a rough game plan.

“We need a boat.” Cassandra said to the other two, barely keeping Rapunzel on track. The brunette (and _god_ was that weird seeing her without her blonde braid) was enraptured with the bustle of a port city, having mostly stayed in Corona after their hunt for the moonstone had ended.

“Why do we need a boat?” Eugene asked, legitimately curious. Cassandra fixed him with a _look_ anyways, but answered.

“Crowshaven, the capital, is on an island like Corona’s castle.” She responded. “If you’re going by foot there’s one way in and one way out. The bridge into the city is heavily guarded, probably more so now that Varian’s in there. If we get a boat, we can potentially sneak in a different way. It’ll be about a day’s sail down the river to get there, but trust me when I say it’ll be much easier in the long run.”

Eugene nodded, holding his hands up in surrender. “Fair enough,” He said.

“Where can we get one?” Rapunzel asked swiftly, tuning back into the conversation. “We have more than enough money to rent one, right?”

Cass nodded, but held up a hand. “I know a guy,” She said vaguely, “He won’t rat on us if we rent from him. I’ll need about an hour, _alone_ , to talk to him though. He’s wary of strangers.”

Rapunzel looked nervous at the thought of Cass going off alone to go speak to someone that sounded so shady, but she had to admit she had no other options.

“You’ll be careful?” She asked, her eyebrows scrunching up with worry. Cass smiled at her, patting her once on the shoulder.

“Course I will,” Cassandra assured her friend. “I’ve met with him a bunch of times, it’s how I got back and forth from the castle without Aldred knowing for months. Durwin may be crabby and paranoid, but he’s trustworthy. I’ll be ready in an hour, we can meet at the docs then. You and Genie can go explore a bit, get anything you’ll need for the road back once we get Varian.”

Eugene bristled at the nickname, even as Cassandra waltzed away with a snicker. The dark-haired woman vanished into the crowds, swallowed up within seconds.

“ _Genie_ ,” The man spat, a pout firm on his face, “That’s the worst nickname I’ve gotten so far.”

“I don’t know,” Rapunzel mused as she pulled him from the alley. “I think it’s cute!”

Eugene pouted at her, but the nickname was thankfully dropped as the pair were swept away with the buzz of people going about their daily lives. Geldam’s Point was at least a little more lively than the previous towns the duo had seen since entering Bayangor, by no means friendly, but in more of a _big city_ way, not a _get out of our town_ way.

Rapunzel and Eugene wandered through the crowded market together, the bleak sunlight trying desperately to peek its way through the grey of the skies. Children ran through the streets, laughing as they chased each other underfoot. The princess couldn’t help but smile, dodging out of their way as they moved deeper into the market.

“Oh!” She said suddenly, dragging Eugene behind her as she crossed the market. “Wow, Eugene look!”

She’d dragged him to a large shop, covered in multiple glowing vials. _Constancia’s Curious Chemistry_ read the sign above the door, worn but kept with an obvious love. Rapunzel dragged her husband inside, a little bell above the door ringing a happy chime as they entered.

An elderly woman sat behind the counter, her large eyes covered in massive goggles. Rapunzel felt a pang of nostalgia for her lost friend, followed by a sharp pain in her heart. When Quirin had been taken to be buried they had found Varian’s goggles in his hand, clenched tight in rigor mortis, the lenses shattered beyond repair.

“Afternoon,” The woman said in a creaky voice. Her eyes looked massive from the distortion of the goggles, nearly taking up half of her face. “Anything I can help you with?”

“Just looking for a friend,” Rapunzel chirped, dragging Eugene deeper into the shop. “He loves alchemy, so I thought we might stop by and poke around.”

The woman, Constancia probably, smiled at that, and went back to… whatever it was she was idly mixing over a small heat source on the desk. “Carry on then,” She said, “Let me know if anything catches your eye or if you need any explanations. Always good to see the younger generations interested in Alchemy.”

Rapunzel grinned at her, and began to poke around, giddily touching everything that looked interesting. “We should get Varian a birthday present while we’re here.” The brunette said to her husband, letting out an _oooooh_ as a small mechanical dragon spewed real fire in short bursts. “Since we might still be on the road. It’s only a week away, right?”

Eugene nodded distractedly, looking over to a wall of differently labeled chemicals. There was certainly enough of a selection for them to find _something_ the kid would like. The man could feel his thoughts quickly began to spiral in the face of how much time had passed.

Was Varian even aware of how long he’d been away from home? It had been just shy of three weeks since he’d been kidnapped, since Eugene had failed to keep him safe-

“Oh! Look!” Rapunzel squealed, bolting across the shop. Eugene snapped to attention as his wife left his field of vision. ‘Wouldn’t Varian just love this?”

She held up a set of odd-looking glassware, if Eugene didn’t know any better he’d say they were failed bottles, but he’d seen Varian using a beat up old set that the alchemist had had for years. The glasses in Rapunzel’s hands were similar, but were bordered with a decorative gold foil, giving them a little design. The set came with a set of stands as well, also in the same gold style.

“He’d love it, sunshine.” Eugene said, trying for a happy tone but coming short. Rapunzel frowned a little and looked him in the eye.

“It’s okay if you don’t like it,” She said, “We can find something else…”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Eugene rushed to backtrack, “I think he’d be over the moon for more tools.”

Her eyes narrowed at his tone, but she clutched the alchemy set closer.

“Perfect then,” She chirped, heading back towards the front desk.

The old woman’s eyes settled on the gift Rapunzel had picked, and she chortled. “Quite a spoiled friend,” She commented as their purchase was rung up. “Glassware is always the first thing to be lost during an experiment.”

Rapunzel giggled as she took the set, now wrapped in a protective case. ‘He’s worth every penny,” She winked, “But you’re right. I’d much rather he loses these than a finger.”

The woman’s eyes crinkled under her goggles. “That’s the way it goes. Now, shoo, I can see your man over there has places to be.”

Rapunzel turned to see Eugene already half out the door. After hastily thanking Constancia, she was out the door and after her wayward husband. When she finally caught up with him he looked upset, and she forced him into the mouth of a nearby alley once again to avoid the crowd.

“What’s wrong?” The princess asked with concern, looking her husband in the eye. Eugene slouched backwards into the grimy wall behind him, avoiding her gaze.

“Nothing,” He said shakily, “... _nothing_. I’m just worried about the kid.”

“We’ll get him back,” Rapunzel shot back immediately, having repeated it so much to herself that the phrase was second nature at this point. “We’ll get him back, and get him home, and throw him the best dang birthday party he’s ever had.”

“Sunshine... _Rapunzel_.” Eugene said her name with such reverence. “You and I both know that this won’t be as easy as that. I… I failed the kid. And now he’s trapped there, and it’s all my _fault_.”

Woah, _woah_ where was this coming from?

“Eugene,” Rapunzel said, stepping closer and bringing a hand up to his face. “Varian’s one of the strongest people we know. Even if it takes years, we’ll stick by him for however long it takes to heal. How could any of this be your fault? Unless you helped Aldred somehow, but I know you never would.”

“I’m the captain of the guard.” Eugene spat, leaning into her touch. “The _guard_. Who are supposed to guard people, keep them _safe_. Aldred snuck through patrol rounds that I helped plan, through castle defenses I made myself. And not only did he get _into_ the castle, he managed to kill Quirin, and kidnap Varian from his own chambers. All on my watch.”

Rapunzel sucked in a breath, having not thought about it in that light.

“No,” She said firmly, “None of this is your fault. Aldred pretended to be a guest for over a week, he was probably memorizing everything he needed to break in. You can’t account for situations like that, you’ll drive yourself insane trying.”

Eugene merely held her hand, turning to kiss her palm. “That still means there were weaknesses to exploit. And Varian paid the price for me missing them.”

Rapunzel finally brought up her other hands, squishing his cheeks between her hands.

“ _You are not to blame for this_ ,” She said, squeezing his face so that he had no other choice but to look her in the eye. “I know it, Varian knows it, and I won’t stop until you know it too. Was my father to blame when I was stolen by Gothel?”

“No, never, of course not-”

“And who was to blame when Cassandra kidnapped Varian before?”

“Well, Cass was, but-”

“Then.” She shook his face gently to enunciate herself, “This can’t possibly be your fault now, right?”

Eugene stared deep into the green eyes before him, feeling his own well with tears.

“I love you,” He finally croaked out, not knowing exactly where he was going with this, but she needed to know how much he needed her in his life.

“I love you too,” She responded fondly, “Even when you’re trying to take the blame for things that aren’t your fault.”

“If I could interrupt,” A third voice suddenly said from deeper into the alleyway, “I have something I need to discuss with the two of you.”

The couple whipped around at the new voice, Eugene throwing out an arm in front of Rapunzel as a shadowy figure stepped forwards. Their long cloak kept them hidden, but as he came into the light both Rapunzel and Eugene recognized him immediately.

“Fancy meeting you here,” Hector smirked, tossing his hood back and stepping out of the shadows.

“What are you doing here?” Eugene demanded, still blocking Rapunzel. “You escaped after Zhan Tiri, we all assumed you’d scurried off to go lick your wounds.”

“I’m here for the same reason you are,” Hector spit back, getting up in Eugene’s face.

“For Varian?” Rapunzel asked in shock, pushing Eugene’s arm down so she could walk forwards. Hector backed off as the princess moved towards him, but he nodded all the same. Eugene made to make a snarky comment, but Rapunzel quickly squashed a hand over his mouth, pushing the sass back into his chest.

“I once called Quirin a friend,” Hector muttered, his hunched shoulders lowering a fraction. “Adira and I heard about his murder, and originally we were going to avenge him, but then we overheard one of your patrols looking for your missing alchemist. The boy is his son, right?”

“Yes,” Rapunzel responded instantly. She knew that while her own “adoption” hadn’t exactly been a great experience, Varian had loved Quirin with everything he had, and Quirin had responded with just as much if not more affection. Quirin was Varian’s father, regardless of bloodlines. “We know where he is, and we’re going to get him and take him home.”

“Good,” Hector grunted, “Adira is just beyond the city limits. She wants me to… _ask you_ if you would like our assistance freeing the boy. We owe it to Quirin to do at least that.”

He managed to choke it out, obviously under threat by Adira to play nice. It seemed to pain him, this inability to just rush in and start swinging, but Rapunzel appreciated the gesture. Eugene flailed, trying to free his covered mouth, but Rapunzel held firm.

“The more the merrier!” She said, and Hector slumped with relief. “But we’re not going to kill Aldred. We’re going to take Varian home, and that’s _it_ , if you want to come with us.”

Hector didn’t seem pleased, his trademark glower set deeply on his face. He rolled his eyes, but finally conceded. “Fine,” He muttered, “I will fetch Adira.”

“We’ve got a friend acquiring us a boat.” Rapunzel responded, “Will the two of you be able to meet us at the docks in half an hour?”

“Consider it done.” Hector said, pulling his hood back up, disappearing into the shadows once again. Rapunzel finally uncovered Eugene’s mouth, and he dramatically gasped for air.

“Jeeze, sunshine.” He whined, “I don’t get a say?”

“We need all the help we can get.” She shot back, “If Adira is able to make Hector play nice with us, then we’ll have to extend the same courtesy. We can work together for a bit, right? For Varian’s sake?”

That does it, and any fight Eugene was going to put up evaporated. “Yeah. For the kid I guess we can work with tall, dark, and creepy.”

Together the pair hurried off to the docs, hoping that Cass would be okay with a couple more teammates for a while.

Of course things never were that easy.

“No.” Cass said flatly when Hector and Adira showed up at the docks, “ _Hell_ no.”

Adira had smiled, holding out her arms. “What’s wrong, short hair?” She asked, holding her arms out as if asking for a hug. “Not happy to see a couple of old friends?”

Cass merely scowled and turned to Rapunzel.

“Raps, are you _sure_?” Cass was borderline begging at this point.

“We need all the help we can get.” Rapunzel said firmly, “For Varian.”

Just like with Eugene, Cass backed off at the boy’s name. Rapunzel felt a little guilty using Varian’s situation as a crutch to convince her friends to accept help, but it would be worth it once the alchemist was home, _safe_. They only needed another day; they’d hit Crowshaven tomorrow, and Rapunzel was antsy to get going.

“So, where’s this illustrious boat?” Eugene asked, looking around the dock. “I hope your friend came through.”

“This way,” Cass gestured, leading them down the dock. “It’s a bit of a dump, but it floats. And we need something inconspicuous to avoid detection.”

A dump was putting it nicely.

The boat, called the _Crow’s Bane_ , was barely seaworthy. Her sails were tattered with age, and her planks were splitting at their ends. It was painted a dull green once, but almost all the paint had chipped away and left nothing but untreated wood behind.

It looked like a gentle breeze would make it collapse.

“Oh, yikes.” Adira said when she saw the _Bane_ , “But I suppose it will have to do.”

Hector had already turned around and was walking away, but she snagged him roughly by the back of his fur cloak, dragging the man onboard. He grumbled, but apparently knew better than to argue.

“Great work, Cass!” Rapunzel said, in light of everyone being less than enthused. The black-haired woman merely laughed and hopped aboard herself, starting to release the sails. Eugene followed her, jumping up onto the ageing wood of the deck and holding out a hand to his wife.

“C’mon then, sunshine,” He said, “Let’s go get our kid.”

Varian was _tired_.

Exhausted, really. After finally submitting to his father, the man had been showering him in little _perks_ for his good behaviour. After three days of no shouting, he’d finally been allowed into the gardens of Barviel Keep. After fixing a small flaw with the machine they were building, Varian had been rewarded with shoes.

And finally, after going a full week without throwing anything, Varian was allowed to go inside the massive library. Father’s machine was done for now, the man said, so Varian was allowed to spend his spare time amongst the books, so long as Meave, the woman he had heard during escape number four, was in the room keeping an eye on him.

Meave the Librarian was an _interesting_ character, to say the least.

The first thing she had done, when father had first pushed Varian into the room and subsequently abandoned him to the books, was to look Varian up and down before muttering and handing him a smudge stick of sage that was on fire.

“There’s ghosts in the books again,” She’d complained, “And my poor back can’t keep up with all the ladders. Get climbing.”

This had started one hell of a companionship, and after the next two hours of wandering the library and scaring off the supposed ghosts, they had sat down and Meave made them both tea. She was ancient, to be honest, her face was more wrinkle than skin, and her small, beady eyes stared out from behind inch thick glasses. Meave was cranky, constantly misheard what Varian was saying, and insisted that Varian be the one to keep fetching her books that were three feet away from her.

Varian _loved her_.

Meave had dark skin, nearly darker than Lance’s, and stark white hair that was always done up in the same bun every time he saw her. She was that good side of crazy, claiming to see ghosts and goblins running around her library, but at the same time infinitely wise. She continued to shock Varian with her little tidbits of wisdom she’d been feeding him for the past three days.

He’d spent his time in the library conversing with Meave, sure, but he also looked into anything to do with the Vinculum Crown. He hadn’t found much, just the same story that father had already told him. There was nothing to do with how to stop the curse, or even how much free will Varian would be left with. Would he be catatonic, or would he just be unable to disobey a direct order?

“Too many variables,” The boy muttered, his quill scratching frantically on a loose scrap of paper. “Too little information and not enough _time_ -”

“C’mon now, brat,” Meave’s accent was thick when she spoke, a rolling twang to her words from her homeland across the sea. “Leave it for now, lest the brain wasps sneak in your ears to lay their eggs.”

_God_ Varian wanted to be just like her when he grew up.

... _If_ he got to grow up.

“Yes ma’am,” He said somberly, closing the massive tome in front of him. He wandered over to Meave’s desk, plopping down in the chair next to her. She idly pushed a cup of tea towards him, not looking up from her current book, _A History of Flesh-Eating Parasites_.

Varian accepted the cup quietly, knowing better than to protest. Every time she made tea she put different herbs in them, claiming that Varian’s immune system was lacking in certain magical protections. The boy assumed this was complete nonsense, but after Zhan Tiri a year ago… well.

Besides, Meave had yet to put anything inedible into the teas. So far he had choked back teas made of dill, clove, sage, and on one memorable occasion he had eaten a whole rose petal that had gotten left behind when she’d strained the tea. Disgusting, yes, bad for him? Not particularly.

Today seemed to be normal tea, thankfully.

His new boots thumped against the stone as he gently swung his legs. Father hadn’t even kept his real boots, and Varian was forced into a new pair that hurt his feet as they were being broken in.

“You knock that off, brat” Meave chided, not looking up from her book. “You may have been raised feral, but I won’t stand for it in my library. By the Triple Goddess, you’re worse than your mother.”

Varian stilled, looking at her with shock.

“You knew my mother?” He asked with trepidation, not sure if he _wanted_ to hear more about Aisha. On the one hand, it could disprove his father's vision of her. On the other hand, it could confirm it.

Meave merely hummed, turning the page of her book. Varian already knew this behaviour. He waited patiently for her to hit the end of her chapter. Once she did, she marked the place with a bookmark, closed it, and then gently set it aside.

“I did.” Meave said somberly. “She was a right fire, that one.”

“Do… do you know what happened?”

Meave’s face scrunched up in something almost like pain.

“I do. It’s not a happy story, brat.”

“I don’t care.” Varian said quickly. “I know that you know I don’t have a lot of time before… well before I can’t really ask any more questions.”

If anything, Meave’s face went even more grim as Varian brought up the subject of the Vinculum Crown. He knew she was the one in charge of re-casting the curse, but Varian couldn’t find it within himself to blame her. Hell, he’d just spent a week building what was probably a doomsday machine. It’d be hypocritical to get angry with the old woman.

Meave let out a begrudging sigh, but nodded all the same.

“You don’t pull your punches, do you, brat?” She grumbled. “Alright fine, yes I knew her.”

Varian stayed quiet, prompting the old woman to go on.

“It was ages ago, of course. She lived here in the castle, a right, proper queen. We in Bayangor keep track of our bloodlines, as I’m sure you’ve seen, and Aisha’s family is one of the last branches left of Demanitus’ tree. Not that the man ever came back, after he left for Corona again, but it was enough that Aisha and her family were nobles. More than enough blue blood for her to be considered a proper bride for Aldred.

“Queen Aisha was one hell of a general, she nearly doubled Baragnor’s lands in the four years she was queen. The last time we ever spoke she had just completed the plans for her ultimate weapon, a machine so powerful it could harness the skies.”

Oh. Oh no.

“But she was also one of the best people I’d ever met.”

Wait what?

“Aisha did terrible things,” Meave elaborated. “Terrible _, but great_. When she and Aldred started trying for a child though… it all stopped. She came here a lot, you know, she and I were great friends. I was the first one she told when you were on your way.”

“What was she _like_?” Varian can’t help but ask, leaning forwards, desperate for information.

“Headstrong.” Meave said sadly, “Smart. Too smart, for her own good honestly. She had sass to all hell, and don’t think I don’t see you with that exact same tongue, brat. But she was also kind, she had a lot of love to give. You and I both know that Aldred doesn’t have a care for that side of her, but it existed. And when you were growing, it was the part that resonated strongest in her.”

Varian listened with rapt attention.

“When she came to me, told me she was pregnant, _actually_ pregnant, she was panicking. Scared. She knew exactly what kind of father Aldred would be to you, the kind he is to you right now-”

Varian’s aching ribs twinged at the reminder.

“-and she didn’t want that for you. It had thrown her into chaos, she’d lived so long as a warrior that I don’t think she remembered how to live as anything else, let alone a mother. It would be a miserable life for a child, of course, and she knew that. So, she came to me, asked for advice. I told her that if she wanted better for you, she’d have to leave it all behind. And the next day she was gone.”

Meave fixed him with a look, the boy caught under her gaze.

“She loved you more than anything.” The woman said, “ _Never_ forget that."

Varian could hardly breathe from Meave’s intense statement, the old woman staring at him with such a fixed gaze. Varian gaped at her, not knowing what to say in the face of such intensity.

“Close your mouth,” Meave chided, tapping his chin. “You’ll catch Snallygasters.”

Varian does so, his teeth making a _click_ that echoed through the quiet of the library.

“Now. No more of this conversation, brat. I’m old, my heart can’t take it. I have to work on your crown now, lest your father kills me dead, so it’ll be up to you if you want to stay for it.”

Varian nodded, curious despite himself. Meave shrugged, muttering something about _those damn stubborn kids._ The old woman stood on creaking knees and wandered into what Varian assumed was her personal quarters, eventually returning with a locked wooden box, made of a dark red wood. Varian watched cautiously as she set the box down and cracked it open, revealing a glittering, silver crown with pink tourmaline gems as the inserts.

It really was an unassuming piece, when you didn’t know what kind of power it possessed. The Vinculum Crown was a simple design, a traditional looking crown made of a polished silver. In twelve equal spaces around the circular base stood small points, each topped with a small fuchsia gemstone. In the center of one of the points, on the front probably, was a larger version of the gems, nearly the size of an eye. It was delicate looking, the silver holding the gems in place thin and dainty.

How simple, for being a cause of so many problems.

“There she is,” Meave spat, plucking the crown up from its pillow. “Brat, if you knew how much of a pain this thing’s been in the past week you’d laugh.”

“You’ve been charging it, right?” Varian asked, reaching out to touch but being slapped away by the old librarian before his fingers could make contact. “How? How do you charge a spell?”

“With blood.” Meave answered bluntly. “Well- no- for this curse, yes, blood. For all spells it’s a sacrifice. A lock of hair, a tear, a memory. For a curse like this, though? Born of sheer malice and the want for control? Only blood will do.”

With that she took out a small letter opener, firmly cutting into her finger and pressing it against the largest stone on the crown. It began to glow an unsettling fuchsia, all of the gems lighting up in harmony. Varian watched with a sense of awe as Meave pushed her finger in harder, the glow brightening briefly before stopping.

“One common misconception is that you have to give it all the blood at once,” Meave mused, turning the crown towards Varian. “But any witch worth her salt knows you can space it out as long as you need.”

She leaned towards Varian with a shady look, and Varian found himself moving closer to hear her next words.

“It only needs another few rounds.” She whispered, “I’ve been spacing them out as much as I can for you. I told King Aldred we’ll need two weeks, but it barely took one. It’ll technically be done by tonight, but _don’t say a word_.”

Varian’s heart sunk at the implications, knowing exactly what Meave was risking by dragging her feet. Father was by no means kind to his staff, let alone those who went against him. If he found out what Meave was doing… well it wouldn’t be pretty.

“I… _thank you_.” Varian whispered back, “For everything.”

To his embarrassment he could feel tears well up, but after three weeks of nothing but abuse and rage from father, a little kindness was frightfully welcome. Meave merely chuckled, bringing the boy in for a side-hug, wrapping a spindly arm around his slight frame.

“I’m sorry I can’t do more for you, brat,” She murmured, “You’re too bright a flame to let the King snuff you out.”

Varian let out a teary giggle at that, leaning into the woman’s comfort. “I miss my home,” he whispered brokenly. “I miss my friends, my lab… _my dad_.”

Meave merely cooed, hugging him tighter. “I know,” she said, “I know. But there’s a saying, in my homeland. _The strongest of us know that in order to rise, we first have to sink_.”

Varian let his mind puzzle over it for a second, but merely shook his head, burying his head under her chin.

“That doesn’t even make any sense,” He mumbled softly, “Buoyancy has nothing to do with downwards velocity.”

Meave scoffed, gently shoving him away. “ _Brat_ ,” She chided fondly, wiping at his tears. Her eyes gazed towards the nearby clock, and she looked sad. “It’s time you make a move on for lunch,” The old woman commented, “Or the King will start to wonder what we’re up to.”

Varian looked as well, and stood slowly. He wiped at his face again, trying to appear as if his breakdown hadn’t happened. He suddenly felt shy, seeing the tear stains on Meave’s dress. She merely wiped at them with a gnarled hand, before making a shooing motion.

“Off you go, lad.” She coaxed, “I’ll see you afterwards.”

Varian was foolish to have believed in the small spark of hope that Meave had given him.

When he’d entered the dining room, stalked by only one guard now, father had looked downright giddy. It had set the boy on edge as soon as he’d crossed the threshold of the room, especially as father’s good mood seemed to increase with Varian’s arrival.

“Ah, there you are.” Aldred said, taking his own seat at the table. “I have good news.”

Varian wasn’t sure if he wanted to ask, as good news for father was usually _terrible_ news for the alchemist, but he also knew that father expected Varian to respond to him when he spoke.

“What is it, father?” The boy asked as he sat, a plate of fancy-yet-disgusting food appearing before him.

“A little spy of mine overheard something fun in the library just before you got here, seems Meave, the senile old bat, has been _lying to me_.”

Varian’s heart sunk.

“I’ve been told the project I gave her was going better than she said it was. But of course, you know all about that, _don’t you_? You two seem to forget that I have eyes and ears _everywhere_.” Father’s tone was accusatory, as if this whole thing was Varian’s fault.

Hell, maybe it was- Varian was running out of ways to keep track of things at this point.

“I… just learned about it today,” The boy finally confessed, “I didn’t know how it worked. I asked, it was my fault.”

Father’s face was sour, but he eventually settled back into his chair and began to eat.

“We’re pushing your coronation up,” The man finally said, aggressively stabbing at his lunch. “It’s taking place tomorrow at noon, now that the Crown’s done.”

Varian felt the floor drop out under his feet. He gripped his fork tightly, unable to unclench his hands. He had made peace with the idea of having a week left before losing his last shred of self to the man in front of him, but then again when did his luck ever allow him nice things?

“I- oh.” He choked out. “That soon?”

Father looked at him, before rolling his eyes. “There’s no need to be so dramatic, Varian.” He chided, looking at the boy with a sour look. “It’ll only be for a while. You’ve been a proper prince this whole week, if you keep it up we can try removing it in a few months. It’s just to keep you from doing anything foolish while you adjust.”

The boy merely looked down to his food, not hungry in the slightest. His mind was racing, and he could feel himself tensing up in his seat.

“Now,” Father said, ignoring the boy’s distress, “We’ve got quite the celebration to throw together by tomorrow. The maids are already panicking of course. It’s not every day you bring forth the lost prince of the country. It’ll be in the courtyard, lots of banners and music, you know the drill from Corona I’m sure-”

Varian tuned out, idly pushing his food around with the fork. He felt a wave of nausea roll through his stomach, but forced it down. Father probably wouldn’t appreciate his heir apparent vomiting all over the dining table. For some reason the numbness he was feeling felt almost comforting, though Vairan supposed between panic and a numb, unstable apathy it was a lesser of two evils.

Something told him that this was unhealthy, feeling himself shut down in the face of panic, disregarding both flight and fight instincts in favour of simply shutting the world out and staring blankly at whatever was in front of him.

“I don’t feel well, father.” He said suddenly, cutting the man off from his ramblings, “I’d like to retire to the tower, if possible.”

Father simply smiled at him, and gestured at Varian to go with his fork.

“You’ve got a big day tomorrow,” The man conceded, “Go get some rest, we’ll need you bright and early for the preparations before the ceremony.”

Varian couldn’t get out of the dining room fast enough. His single guard merely followed him, not quite forcing him to go to the tower, but following closely just in case Varian decided to make a break for it.

On the way to the tower he found himself once again in the hall of portraits, staring up at the countless pairs of blue eyes glaring down at him from every direction. He spun around, unable to see anything beyond their judging stares, until he finally fixated himself on a set of forest green eyes.

Aisha’s portrait was just as terrifying to look at as it had been the first time Varian had seen it. With the way Meave had described her, Varian could see a lot of himself in her story.

To be so consumed by hatred, by a lust for power, fueled by a rage that seemed to burn eternal inside of him, only to be snapped out of it by the pure love that came from those closest to him.

Father had said his planned name had meant _destined for greatness_ , but Aisha had changed it to one that meant _born into love_. He didn’t miss the symbolism of that change. Father wanted a son who would burn cities, destroy anyone who stood in their path, one who would be just as _brutal_ as his bloodline demanded of him.

He would have been so _proud_ of Varian’s rampage through Corona.

Aisha had merely wanted him to know that he had been _loved_ , and that was what mattered above all else. Varian could have been whoever he wanted, great or not, and he would still be loved, deeply and truly, by those around him.

Varian felt a pang of misery run through him. All her efforts to keep Varian from Bayangor, running from father, _dying_ while throwing the man off Varian’s trial, and all of it was for nothing. Varian was being dragged into his destiny, kicking and screaming, despite everything she had done to prevent it.

By this time tomorrow, Varian would be as good as dead, and there was no way for him to stop it. He quietly broke eye contact with the painting, and numbly walked from the room.

She would have been so disappointed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WE HAVE FANART???? justanotherhopelessfanartist on tumblr made an absolutely PHENOMENAL drawing about this dumpster fire!!! Go give her love guys, I've been crying for six hours over this art and me keysmashing in her inbox just ain't cutting it
> 
> Also sorry this chapter's a little slow... let's just say it's a calm before the storm :D


	6. Choking on Saltwater

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel arrives at Barviel Keep. It doesn't go well.

Varian didn’t sleep a wink that night. He stared at the ceiling under his cotton (low tensile strength, not enough to hold his weight) blankets. For the entire night he counted the stones as the light dipped low into the late night and began to rise again with the weak sunlight of morning. As the dawn approached he felt himself growing more and more separated from what was happening, his energy sapping away with the darkness of evening.

He refused to move when a guard came to fetch him for breakfast. The guard eventually gave up after waiting for Varian to move for too long, quickly exiting the room and locking it tight behind them.

Gone to tattle, then.

Lo and behold, father showed up soon after, carrying a plate. Varian barely acknowledged the man, staring blankly at the wall by his bed. Father sat down near Varian’s feet, his weight dipping the bed. The man patted at his knee from above the covers.

“C’mon drama queen,” The man chided, shaking the boy’s leg. “Up and at them, we’ve got too much to do today for you to be acting like this.”

Varian didn’t even look at him.

“ _Varian_.” Father’s voice was dangerous. “I don’t have time for you to decide you want to play games. If you don’t get up I can and _will_ have you dragged downstairs and crowned in your pajamas, and you _won’t like_ what comes after.”

Eventually Varian snapped out of it enough to sit up, still staring into nothing. Father took a gentle hold of the boy’s chin, forcing him to look up.

“Listen to me,” The man said firmly, “It’s time to stop with the games, grow up, and accept that this is happening. If I see any sort of _tricks_ on your end, it won’t be pleasant, for you or for Corona.”

The boy shuddered, but nodded, slowly moving forward towards starting his day.

_Your last day_ , a voice whispered in Varian’s mind, _before you lose it all._

He took a shuddering breath and stood. Father seemed content with that, patting him on the head condescendingly before leaving the room. Varian let out a little sniffle, the noise echoing in the empty room, but didn’t cry. He’d done enough of that, he supposed, in the past three weeks… maybe he could take a break.

Varian sent a small look to the haphazardly boarded up window near the desk, still broken after escape attempt number five.

Maybe if he could pry a few of the boards free he could slip out and be dead on the ground before Aldred could stop him.

At least the crows would be content then, with something to eat.

When Rapunzel first saw the city of Crowshaven over the horizon, she’d been filled with the oddest combination of feelings. Overwhelming dread had taken her first, looking at the imposing sight of the massive castle poking into the clouds above the city, it’s great grey form nearly blotting out the sun. The dread, however, evaporated when a new thought pushed its way to the surface.

Varian was in there.

He was in there, trapped and alone, yes, but _alive_ , and she was so close to finally having him back with them, safe and protected in her arms. By the end of the day they’d be on their way to Corona, where she could smother him all she wanted. After this she would wrap that kid in bubble wrap, mark her words.

She’d barely slept the night before, too amped up at the thought of freeing Varian, of finally getting to see him in front of her after three long weeks. Her satchel swayed in the winds coming off the lake, gently bumping against her hip, but she ignored it. Rapunzel refused to take her eyes off the castle, almost able to _smell_ their coming victory.

It was barely morning, the weak sunlight just starting to peek over the horizon, but even from far away she could see the commotion going on outside the castle of Barviel Keep. Smoke rose from the chimneys, and even from this far she could hear music. Bright banners with the Bayan crest flew from the battlements, and she could see the ant-like figures of people scurrying around in all directions.

“What’s going on?” She asked softly, holding onto one of the ropes attached to the sails of their boat. She felt a presence wander up behind her, and turned around to see Eugene.

“I don’t know, sunshine.” The man said, focused on the castle before them. “But whatever it is, hopefully it’ll be enough of a distraction for us to get in.”

“About that,” Cass called from across the deck, drawing the couple’s attention away from the ominous shadow of the Keep. “We’ll have to go around the back to get in. There’s a baker who always leaves the back door open when he goes for a smoke, meaning literally anyone can get past him with the right timing. That’s our in.”

Eugene let out a laugh, “That easy?”

Cass hit him with a deadpan stare. “It’s the best way. We get in, we get the kid, we get out.”

For once, it really was that easy.

The five of them moored the _Crow’s Bane_ off the shore behind the Keep, hiding it with a few well placed branches. The group made their way up the craggy, rocky shore, and up towards Barviel Keep’s foundation. The sun was higher in the sky now, and Rapunzel could hear countless voices and the sounds of construction in the courtyard beyond.

Cass led them to a small, unassuming door in the side of the keep, iron barred and solid, but small. Obviously a servant’s entrance, embedded in the foundation in such a way that if you didn’t know where it was you’d miss it completely. She turned to the group behind her, and gestured.

“He’ll be out soon, that man smokes like a chimney.”

Rpaunzel and her friends hid behind a few larger rocks when they heard the door rattling, and lo and behold, before too long a chubby, balding man wandered out of the building. He roughly shoved a rock to prop the iron door open before lighting up a pipe and stalking away, grumbling to himself. They waited until the man, probably the baker, was long gone before making a break towards the door and slipping inside.

The group found themselves in a dark, damp hallway, lit by torches. They quietly slid through, eventually finding themselves deep under the castle. The servant’s hallways were long and winding, the perfect way to slip through the castle undetected.

They passed by the grand kitchens, people bustling in and out as preparations for whatever was happening today got underway. Large fires burnt in the hearths; every single oven was stuffed to max capacity. Rapunzel had seen this kind of activity many times before; the employees of Barviel were preparing for some kind of party, probably a feast from the state of the kitchens.

Rapunzel was spooked out of her musing and forced to hide behind an outcropping of wall as a pair of maids went scurrying past, but she just caught the snippets of their conversation.

“-crowning, I wonder what the new prince looks like.”

“I’ve heard he’s the spitting image of the King, right down to the _temper_.”

“A shame, but at least after the coronation we’ll get a bit of a break before-”

And then they were gone, but Rapunzel had heard enough. A _coronation_ , by the Sun they really were getting here just in time. Rapunzel was by no means stupid, she knew that if Aldred thought Varian was his son, he’d want the boy crowned and signed in as legitimate as quickly as possible. She wasn’t sure if it counted as a rescue or a kidnapping of a neighboring prince if she stole Varian away from Barviel once the boy was crowned, let alone if Varian would even be considered a Coronian citizen after.

They had to hurry.

“We need to split up,” Rapunzel murmured to the group once they were alone. “We don’t know where Varian is. If he’s being crowned today he could be anywhere around the castle.”  
  


Adira nodded at that, “We’ll cover more ground that way,” She agreed.

“I’ll go for the tower,” Cass added, “I know my way around best, and that’s the hardest point to find. I say that if one of us finds him, we get him out immediately, don’t bother looking for everyone else. We’ll meet at the boat once the panic starts, when the kid’s found missing I doubt that Aldred will be quiet about it.” 

They all agree with that, splitting into five different hallways as they branch off.

Rapunzel wanders aimlessly at first, trying to get her bearings within the Keep. It’s not easy, the place was built like a labyrinth of stone and marble. It was cold, she noted with a shudder, the stone and marble sapping away any warmth in the lofty rooms.

She found herself turned around more than once. The princess walked through what must be the entrance hall of the castle, from the looks of the grand staircase. Rapunzel kept moving, passing a few more rooms, then a dining hall, and finally found herself in a massive hall of portraits.

Rapunzel knew, from her many talks with her father about the neighboring countries, that the Bayans had a tradition of immortalizing their royalty in paint and canvas once they were dead and gone. She’d never expected to actually see it, however, and upon looking around she was struck by a thought.

They all had Varian’s eyes.

It was unnerving, seeing her friend’s eyes glaring at her from all directions, all set into faces that Rapunzel didn’t recognize.

The brunette shuddered, moving on. She was wasting time here, and Varian needed her to focus. She didn’t have the time to stand around and stare at the ghosts.

Rapunzel snuck further into the castle, passing countless empty rooms. She was starting to get discouraged, thinking of maybe turning back and doubling around when she heard voices approaching. The princess quickly ducked into an alcove as a pair of guards passed by, pressing herself as far into the shadows as she could. Once they were gone, she began to creep from the alcove, only to be stopped in her tracks.

She let out a startled yelp as a pair of hands came from the room behind her, one wrapping over her mouth and the other around her wrist, the brunette unable to fight as she was dragged into the room behind her.

Rapunzel’s free hand went for her frying pan, swinging it around haphazardly. The hands released their grips as a creaky voice yelled at her in fright.

“WOAH! Woah, I’m friendly, I swear, see?” The person yelped as Rapunzel whirled around to see an elderly woman up her hands in surrender. The princess held her frying pan defensively, unwilling to let her guard down.

“Bloody Coronians,” The woman muttered, meeting Rapunzel’s eyes. “I’m trying to _help you_ , princess, will you please just listen to me?”

Rapunzel lowered her frying pan marginally, but never took her eyes off the old woman in front of her. “Start talking,” The brunette demanded. Green eyes darted around for a quick second, and she saw she had been pulled into a library by the woman in front of her.

“My name’s Meave.” The woman started, “You’re here for Varian, right?”

Rapunzel tensed all over again, frying pan coming back between the woman’s eyes. Something in Rapunzel’s heart protested threatening an elderly woman, but her mind knew that looks could be deceiving.

Meave merely rolled her eyes at the unspoken threat. “By the Goddess you and Varian are two peas in a pain-in-the-ass pod, aren’t you? I know you’re here to take him home, and I want to help so will you _please_ get that bloody thing out of my face.”

Rapunzel stayed suspicious, but gestured for her to talk.

Meave looked disgruntled but continued. “Fine, be like that, I guess. You need to get Varian away from the king before he’s crowned.”

“Why?” Rapunzel said apprehensively, “Turnabout’s fair play, even if it’s technically kidnapping if we take him home after he’s made a prince.”

“It’s not that,” Meave argued, “It’s the crown itself. It’s cursed, it’s like the Dark Kingdom’s mind trap.” Rapunzel gasped at that, but Meave was undeterred. “If that crown gets put on the brat’s head and he’ll be Aldred’s puppet until you can remove it. He’ll do things he won’t want to, say things he doesn’t mean. He’ll be a slave to his father, and you _can’t_ let that happen to him.”

Meave looked almost shocked at herself for the outburst, but clenched her fists and continued.

“Varian’s a bright boy, he’s his mother’s spitting image. He doesn’t deserve what Aldred’s going to do to him, no one does. So, I am begging you, get him out of here. Take him home, keep him safe.”

Rapunzel’s frying pan dropped to her side. She reached a hand out for Meave, but let it drop.

“I will,” is all the princess responded with. “Whatever it takes.”

Meave seemed relieved to hear it, and beamed at her. “Thank you,” The elderly woman said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Now, you have to hurry, the coronation is soon, in the courtyard. _Go_!”

The last word was nearly a bark, the hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder pushing her firmly, but Rapunzel was already out the door and running back towards the front gate, her dress a purple blur behind her. Meave watched her go in satisfaction, waiting for the princess to be long gone before settling down into her chair at the main desk in relief.

She stayed stoic, even as a dark figure emerged from behind the shelves in front of her, imposing in the dim lighting of the library. She barely acknowledged the shadowy figure, not looking up from her book.

“You’re a fool, Meave.” Aldred hissed from the darkness, the dagger in his hand glinting in the firelight. “I have ears _everywhere_.” 

“I know.” The old woman said calmly, meeting the man’s eyes without fear. “But all it takes is someone who’s still willing to speak.”

The man scoffed, already moving forwards.

Meave was dead before the first drop of her blood hit the floor.

Cassandra quietly ran up the stairs of the main tower, taking them two at a time in her hurry. She could only hope that they’d left Varian alone in his room before they needed him for the ceremony, but she wasn’t positive. She spirited as fast as she dared up the spiral stairs, unnerved by how even the quietest of her footsteps echoed off the stone.

Cass skid to a stop in front of the door, nearly slamming into it with her haste. She fumbled with the key she’d kept since she’d made the original run from Crowshaven to Corona, smashing it into the padlock to Varian’s room. Her rush made her sloppy, missing the lock twice before finally slotting the key home and tearing it from the door.

Despite her haste, she still quietly opened the door to the boy’s cell, uncertain about what she would find on the other side.

The room looked mostly the same, a lot more bare than last time… and was that a broken window? Varian must have been busy these last three weeks. The ink stain was still on the wall, funnily enough, from when he’d thrown it at her on his first day here.

“Varian?” She hissed, creeping further into the room. “Varian are you in here?”

“Cass?” A small voice said from nearby. Cassandra whipped around, fixing on a very familiar pair of blue eyes.

“Kid!” She said in relief, seeing Varian in one piece, sitting on one of the windowsills, was one of the most wonderful things she’d ever laid eyes on.

“Cassie!” Varian cried in joy, nearly falling in his haste to get to Cassandra. Before she could react the kid had flung himself into her, hugging her tightly. She returned the hug, pulling him close as he shook. “I was so scared- I thought no one knew where I was- Cass my _dad_ -”

“You’re okay.” She murmured gruffly, hugging him tighter as if to protect him from the light itself. “You’re okay, Varian. Me, Raps, and Eugene are here. So are Adira and Hector. We all came to get you home, kid.”

She could feel him start to shake harder, and nearly short circuited. This was Rapunzel’s area of expertise; Cassandra was never good at dealing with other people’s feelings, hell she wasn’t good at dealing with _her own_ feelings. Cassandra settled for hugging him tight once more, before letting go to grab at his shoulders and push him back slightly to catch his eye.

“Varian,” She said firmly, “We need to go, now.”

“I can’t,” The boy whispered tearfully, “Father-”

“Quirin… didn’t make it, bud, they didn’t find him until the next morning, there was nothing they could have done-”

“I know, it’s not my dad, it’s _father_.”

Oh. Oh no this went deeper than she thought.

“Aldred isn’t going to hurt you once we get _out of here_ , Varian.”

“If I leave he’ll kill you.” Varian whispered in fear, his voice cracking. “He’ll never let me go, Cassie.” Cassandra noted with horror that the kid had a band of purple bruises around his neck, a matching set around each wrist.

She felt a little spark of rage ignite in her gut. Aldred was getting a sword through the chest by the end of today if it killed her. Varian may be a little shit, but he was still a friend, and to see him so beaten, so _subdued_ , felt wrong to Cassandra. She took a deep breath, trying to rationalize her thoughts to convince the boy in front of her that he would be safe if they left.

“Varian,” She started, “Listen. I’m here, Rapunzel’s here, _and_ Eugene’s here. If Aldred thinks he can take the three of us on and win, let _alone_ having to get through Adira and Hector first, then I say let him try. We will _never_ let him touch you again.”

Varian stared up at her, his eyes glassy with tears. “I- I _can’t_ ,” He said fearfully, gaze snapping to the door as if Aldred would barge through any second. “If I try and escape he’ll hunt me down, he _always finds me,_ Cassandra. And when he does, he’ll kill all of you and drag me back here again and I can’t take that, I can’t!”

Cassandra reeled at the fearful tirade from the kid, but she grabbed him by the shoulders anyways and shook him gently to try and break him from his panic. The boy flinched back at the contact, like he’d been burned.

“I’m sorry!” He wailed, backing away from Cassandra on the instinct of an injured animal. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!”

This was so far out of Cassandra’s capabilities.

“Varian listen,” She said beseechingly, reaching out to him, “Please. We don’t have time for this, we have to go-”

She was cut off by the door rattling as someone tried to open it. Both of their eyes locked onto the door, but Varian was the one who reacted first.

“ _Hide_!” Varian hissed, pushing her towards the bed. Cassandra went without complaint, vaulting over the bed and slipping underneath as the door opened. Varian was left standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, but Cass could see his boots shift as she heard people enter the room.

“Father,” Varian greeted with apprehension after a few seconds of awkward silence. “I wasn’t expecting you yet.”

“And who else were you expecting?” Aldred’s voice drifted across the room, and Cassandra felt herself tensing, hand slowly gripping the hilt of her sword at her hip. She counted five pairs of feet, including Varian’s. Not great odds, but Cass was willing to give it a shot for the kid’s sake.

She never got the chance.

“Come along now, Varian” Aldred said in a commanding tone, “It’s time to introduce you to our people.”

“Yes, father.” Varian’s voice rang with nervousness, but Cass watched as all five pairs of shoes left the room. She didn’t dare move at that point, knowing it would be too easy for Aldred to grab the kid and run, leaving her with the guards. Once she was sure she was alone, Cassandra snuck out from under the bed and smashed a fist down onto its fluffy surface in frustration.

“ _Damnit_.” She hissed into the empty room.

Rapunzel was sprinting for the courtyard, or at least where she thought the courtyard was. If the woman, Meave, was right there was a second, insidious layer to this whole coronation that Aldred was planning. The halls were empty, and she could hear the rabble beginning outside. Her satchel slammed into her side, but she didn’t care, running as fast as she could on the slippery floors. She was running out of time, something inside her said, she wouldn’t make it, and then poor Varian would be trapped as a puppet.

Rapunzel could feel the panic welling up in her chest, her whole being solely focused on getting to the courtyard as fast as humanly possible.

Which is why, when she ran into Eugene, she sent them both tumbling to the ground.

“Oww, my beautiful face,” Eugene whined, flat on his back on the stone floors. Rapunzel wasn’t much better, sprawled out with limbs out everywhere. The princess let out a groan as she flipped onto her back, slowly patting at her husband’s face without looking at him.

“Fancy seeing you here, stranger.” Rapunzel huffed out as she sat up.

Eugene stood first, offering her a hand. She took it, her aching limbs protesting the movement, but as soon as she was on her feet the pair heard blaring horns coming from the courtyard outside.

She scrambled to grab her bag from the ground, grabbing Eugene with the other hand and forcing him to run with her as she took off into the halls of Barviel Keep.

“Woah, sunshine, where’s the fire?!” The man yelled as he was dragged behind his wife, the two of them rushing through the halls and around countless corners.

“Varian’s about to be crowned in the courtyard!” She shouted back frantically, pumping her legs as fast as they’d go. “If Aldred gets the crown on him it’s all over!”

Eugene ran alongside her now, still confused but trusting her fear to be rightly placed. They raced down the halls, passing the portrait room without a care. 

‘What happens when the kid gets crowned? He just gets a new hat, right?”

“It’s like the mind-trap!” Rapunzel panted as they reached the front hall, the brunette rushing for the door. “That crown gets on his head and he’ll be nothing but a puppet!”

Rapunzel tried to force the door open, but found it too heavy for just her alone.

Eugene went pale at the implications of her discovery, but moved forwards to help his wife, and together the two of them worked together to open the massive door. They slipped out together, still hand in hand, into the bustle of the coronation ceremony.

The courtyard was bustling with people, hundreds crammed into the castle walls. In the very center was a raised platform, where Aldred himself stood, in the middle of some kind of speech. A large box of polished red wood sat on a podium to the man’s left. Rapunzel elected to ignore Aldred for now, her green eyes scanning the crowd from her vantage point at the top of the grand stairs.

On the outer section of the wall furthest from Rapunzel and Eugene, she could see Hector and Adira had apparently found each other, the princess locking eyes with Hector. The man elbowed Adira and drew her attention to them, and he gestured to the left.

The brunette looked to where Hector was gesturing and saw Cassandra skulking in a shadowed corner. Her heart sank, if everyone was here then that meant no one had found Varian. All four of her friends had their eyes fixed on Aldred, the man still blathering on at the crowd from his place on stage.

Rapunzel could see her friends all starting to get their weapon of choice ready, each one ready to throw hands the minute the call was made. 

The princess realized, belatedly, that they were waiting on her command to strike.

She knew they had to wait until they saw Varian, if they attacked too early their friend could be whisked away in the chaos and they’d be back to square one. If they attacked too late… well.

It was a difficult position, the time for the quiet approach was long gone, but this was still Aldred’s kingdom. If she pushed too far it would be an act of war. 

She held up a hand, indicating for them to wait. To the princess’s relief they all seemed to be willing to hold off. She turned to focus on Aldred, reaching into her bag, and tuning into his speech.

“-after our Queen abandoned us, I know we had given up hope of the royal bloodline continuing.” Aldred said with a bravado Rapunzel had seen in every born and raised noble she had ever met. “But, I bring good news! After a recent foray into Corona, I discovered that Queen Aisha’s son, _my_ son, had indeed survived Aisha’s treachery!”

The crowd burst into murmurs at that, the people around Rapunzel seeming shocked. She supposed this was how the people of Corona had responded to her return. Aldred waited patiently for the buzz to calm, staring out into the crowd. He really did look like Varian, Rapunzel realized with a jolt. Same eyes, same hair _, down to the stripe_. When Varian was home she was making him dye that bloody thing, she swore it.

“It is with great joy,” Aldred said, gesturing to the right wall of the courtyard, opposite Cassandra, “That I introduce you to my son, your Prince Apparent, my _Varian_!”

As if on queue the crowd burst into cheers, nearly deafening. Rapunzel could feel the noise deep in her chest as the bedlam continued, and she was unable to see past the waving hands and banners until she saw a familiar figure dragged up onto the stage by two guards.

“Varian!” She shrieked, pushing forwards without a thought. Varian looked… well he didn’t look great. He was thinner, gaunt and pale in the weak sunlight. The boy fruitlessly struggled against the two guards holding him by the arms, trying to deadweight his way out of their grips multiple times to no avail as he was dragged between them. Aldred merely turned to the boy and smiled, the man clapping along with the crowd almost sarcastically.

The time for subtly was over, Rapunzel realized.

Her hand tightened around her weapon, and she wildly gestured to her friends to move. They all quickly made a break for the center, trying to push through the crowd at a snail’s pace. They needed to get the public out of there, with the amount of people present they’d never stop Aldred in time. 

Rapunzel gripped the colour bomb, one of many that Varian had gifted her, tightly. She let out a loud yell as she lobbed it through the air, sending it right towards the main stage. It sailed in a perfect arc through the air, and Rapunzel could see Varian’s eyes widen in recognition as Aldred’s narrowed in confusion.

When it hit the ground, chaos erupted. Despite the fact that it was more of a smoke bomb than anything the people still scattered, many screaming in fear. Rapunzel lost track of her friends in the chaos of the panicking crowd, but she only had eyes for Varian. The boy’s guards had released him in the anarchy, and the kid had dropped to the ground once free.

Rapunzel let loose a few more smoke bombs, sending the crowd truly panicking. She felt bad, but she knew it was for the best. So long as no one was allergic to the dye, they would be fine. The brunette could see Cass, Adira, and Hector hadn’t made much headway in moving forwards in the chaos, but they’d get there much faster than they would have if they’d had to push through the crowded plaza.

Rapunzel tried to push forwards, her worried gaze watching in concern as Varian’s guards tried to grapple with him, the boy dodging the grabbing hands before bringing a foot up wildly and kicking one square in the chest, the guard falling back off the stage and into the frantic crowd.

“Yeah goggles!” Eugene cawed from Rapunzel’s left, “That’s my boy!”

Varian took the second one out in much the same way, but when he was distracted Aldred snatched at one of the boy’s wrists, catching him and pulling him closer to the man. Varian struggled something fierce, but Aldred got up in the boy’s face and Varian stopped when the man yelled… something at him. Rapunzel was too far to hear. Varian’s eyes widened with fright under Aldred’s rage, and the princess of Corona saw _red_.

The crowd had thinned out considerably, and Rapunzel advanced on the stage, now readying her frying pan. Some deep, animal instincts were telling her to attack the man before her, seeing him treat Varian so roughly.

“ALDRED!” She yelled out, projecting her voice in a way that she didn’t often have to do. She brought up her frying pan to line up in between his eyes. “You and I need to have a _talk_.”

The man in question stood from where he’d been bent nearly half over to get in Varian’s face. He turned to her with a smarmy smile, using his grip on Varian’s wrist to pull the boy closer.

Varian was looking at her like she was the sun herself as she approached. She offered him a small, reassuring smile, but then turned back to the man in front of her. Soon there was nothing between them but a few meters space, Aldred looking down on her from the platform.

“It seems we do,” Aldred said. “I’ll have to notify your father about you crashing our party, if you wanted an invitation that badly I could have given you one, princess. No need to be so uncouth.”

Rapunzel fumed at Aldred’s flippant tone, meeting his glare head on. She grit her teeth, knowing that Aldred was playing with the trap that was social convention. This was still a weakness of hers, speaking with the decorum of royalty, but one look at Varian and she was willing to try. The alchemist opened his mouth to speak, but Aldred brought up a hand and gripped the boy tightly by the back of the neck. It wasn’t exactly a subtle threat, but it was enough that she could see Varian’s mouth snap shut, and his whole body tensed.

“I am here as a dignitary on behalf of the Coronian people.” Rapunzel said as firmly as she could, “Namely Quirin and Varian of Old Corona.”

Aldred scoffed at that, looking down at the boy. “Quirin of the Dark Kingdom, and Varian of Bayangor, perhaps.” He said, “Neither of whom are under your power, _princess_. Does darling Frederick even know you’re here? What you’re playing at? Attacking the royal family of one of your allies doesn’t seem like something he’d like you to be doing.”

“You murdered one of our citizens, and kidnapped another!” Rapunzel snapped back, “You’re no ally to Corona and you know it!”

She felt a hand on her back, and felt Eugene step up behind her. “Varian is a member of the Coronian royal household,” The man said with a touch of anger, his tone aiming for diplomacy and failing. “We want him home, where he belongs.”

Rapunzel could see a dark figure sneaking up on Aldred, slowly creeping up behind him. Cassandra moved quietly through the abandoned courtyard, her sword drawn, towards the enemy king’s back. Rapunzel shifted her eyes back to her adversary, so as not to give Cass away before she could strike.

“He’s _my_ son,” Aldred argued, “That makes him part of the Bayan bloodline. He stays here.” The man shook the alchemist in his grip roughly, and Varian made a choked off squeak. Rapunzel can feel her blood boil, but she tenses up as Cass reaches Aldred, the woman jumping up onto the platform and rushing Aldred, swinging her sword with a yell.

Aldred whirled around at the noise, roughly dropping Varian and using his free hands to grab at her wrist. Using her momentum, the man roughly spun and continued Cassanda’s arc, sending her forwards and off the platform entirely. She fell to the ground with a yelp, her sword skidding across the courtyard.

“Cass!” Rapunzel shouted, rushing to help her friend up off the cobblestones.

“I’m fine,” The raven-haired woman spat, glaring up at the platform.

Rapunzel heard Varian screech in terror, the sound sending a pulse of fear through her, and looked up to see Aldred, crown in hand, descend upon Varian. The boy scrambled backwards on the platform, but was quickly overpowered. Aldred grabbed the alchemist by the throat, lifting the boy up off the ground. Varian brought his hands up and clawed at the man holding him, his feet kicking at Aldred’s shins. The king was undeterred, however, an insane glint in his eye.

Aldred merely shook him once, rattling the child, and with a triumphant yell, slammed the Vinculum Crown down onto Varian’s head.

Varian let out a cry of pain as the fuchsia gemstones all lit up, bathing him in a pink light. Rapunzel watched in horror as his blue eyes lit up a bright pink, much like the effects of the mind trap had looked. The boy dropped like a dead weight as Aldred let him go, falling to his knees as he shrieked and grabbed at his hair. Small bits of what looked like pink lightning bounced from gem to gem, cracking with magical energy. Varian’s eyes scrunched shut in pain, the boy screaming as he tried to pull his own hair out in an attempt to stop the pain.

“Varian!” Rapunzel cried, just as Eugene next to her yelled “ _Kid_!”

It was only seconds until Varian went quiet, but it felt like hours. Once the screaming had stopped, Aldred forced Varian back up to his feet and turned the kid’s slack face side to side to check for problems with the magic. The boy limply went along with it, his eyes now gently closed, and Rapunzel would have thought him unconscious if not for how he stood under his own power.

Varian’s eyes suddenly fluttered open, the iris no longer their usual icy blue, but the same fuchsia of the stones in the crown upon his head. His dazed expression brightened into a smile at the sight of Aldred, and the boy looked relieved to see the man in front of him.

“Father!” Varian shouted joyfully, his voice echoing around the courtyard.

Aldred smiled down at the boy, gently cupping Varian’s face with both hands. He stared at the boy in front of him with something that could be mistaken as tenderness, but Rapunzel saw right through it. It was the same kind of look that Gothel had given her for years, a possessive joy that could be mistaken for love. It made a chill race up her spine, to see it once again.

“There you are,” Said Aldred with a cruel smile, “There’s my Varian.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's about to go DOWN y'all
> 
> Happy Wednesday, this update brought late to you by a PULSING F*CKING MIGRAINE
> 
> *EDIT* NEW ART!! Done by the fantastic [justanotherhopelessfanartist](https://justanotherhopelessfanartist.tumblr.com/) on tumblr


	7. Lights from the Shoreline

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rapunzel refuses to give up easily, even when faced with impossible odds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT LET'S GO NERDS!!! Happy Wednesday, and welcome to the FIRST HALF of today's post! That's right, it's a double update!! Chapter eight is going to go up literally right after seven, so don't forget to read em both! ALSO We have fanart!! Darling justanotherhopelessfanartist has blessed us with a new piece for last chapter, which can be found [Here](https://justanotherhopelessfanartist.tumblr.com/post/617982570407378944/in-honor-of-the-finale-of-like-a-rowboat-on-an) Or I'm also going to put it at the end of Chapter Six if you want to go back and see it!

Rapunzel’s heart had sunk into the cobblestones beneath her feet. She barely noticed when Eugene and Cassandra pulled her back from the base of the platform, numb as a swarm of guards surrounded her and her friends. Adira and Hector were dealing with their own problems across the courtyard, they too were overwhelmed with guards.

Eugene let out a yelp as an arrow embedded itself in the ground near his foot, and Rapuznel was forced to snap to awareness as archers atop the walls began to rain fire upon them. She used her frying pan to protect her head as she ran, dodging the swords of the guards as they ran towards the relative shelter of the wall. Rapunzel managed to get a few good swings in, knocking multiple guards to the ground with the satisfying _clank_ of iron on iron.

She could only watch as Aldred led Varian back into the castle, quickly moving the boy from their sights with a hand on his shoulder. Varian went compliantly, a complete opposite reaction to how he’d been acting a mere five minutes before.

“We need to get the crown off Varian’s head!” Rapunzel shouted to Eugene, blocking an arrow with her frying pan.

“That’s a few steps down the line, Sunshine,” The man shouted back, slashing his sword at a guard, “Let’s start with _not dying_ , and then we can get started on the new plan!”

Rapunzel merely nodded, noticing on her peripherals as Cass, Adira, and Hector were all driven closer to them. The three of them managed to make a pseudo barricade, blocking the guards from the couple for a few brief moments, and leaving them a clear path to the door Varian and Aldred had disappeared through.

“GO!” Cass yelled to them, “We’ll hold them off, get the kid!”

“And if you could hurry, it would be appreciated!” Hector griped as he bashed at a guard’s shield, knocking the adversary to the ground with a well-timed punch.

“On it!” Rapunzel called back, already turning to enter the castle. Eugene held off a bit, holding two arrows in his hand and staring up at the wall of the main tower in thought.

“I’m going to take a detour,” He said with mischief in his eyes, weighing the arrows in each hand. “I think I have an idea to catch Aldred off guard.”

“Just be careful,” The brunette said, already following his train of thought.

“Same to you, sunshine,” He whispered back.

And with that, Rapunzel was off.

She sprinted back into the depths of Barviel Keep, rushing through the stone hallways. She could hear Aldred’s voice carrying through the halls, and it made her push herself to be faster. Her lungs burned with the exertion of it, but she refused to falter. Varian needed her to be swift, and so she would be.

Eventually she reached the bottom of a winding staircase, one that she would assume goes up to the top of the tallest tower. She felt a little sick as she began to ascend, her footsteps quiet against the stone. This whole scenario was more than a little familiar, and it was setting off every alarm bell Rapunzel had.

She followed the pair up to the roof, passing a set of rooms near the top. The sickness she felt earlier got worse as she noticed the iron padlock keeping one of the doors shut. No guesses as to where Varian had been kept during his stay, then. Rapunzel stared at the lock in horror, wondering what exactly Varian had been through while stuck here.

That boy was _never_ getting left alone again after this, she swore it here and now.

The princess hurried her steps, leaving the rooms behind to continue up the staircase, pushing herself towards the entrance to the roof of the tower. Barviel had a very different type of architecture style from Corona, as she had noted multiple times already, but one of the stranger features was that the tops of every tower in the Keep was flat, save for a wall that went around the perimeter. Thus, the roof of the tower was only accessible through a trapdoor.

Rapunzel came to the door with trepidation, knowing for certain that Varian, and by extension Aldred, were on the other side of it. She slowly began to open it, pushing it up as quietly as she could. Her frying pan was a comfortable, reassuring weight in her hand, and she held it at the ready. She peeked through the gap the door permitted and saw what had to be Aldred’s shoes standing a few meters away, before a large… something made of metal.

And there, near Aldred, were a second set of feet.

_Varian_.

With a fierce cry she slammed the door the rest of the way out, the wooden door flying open and hitting the stone with a crash. Rapunzel leapt from the stairs and onto the roof, pan swinging back and ready to bash Aldred’s head in the moment she saw him. She began to rush at the man, intent on swinging her pan with everything she had, but was stopped by a third body springing in between her and her target.

“Woah, Rapunzel!” Varian shouted in horror, “Stop!” The boy had flung his arms out in defense of the man he now called father, the boy using himself as a shield in order to stop her.

Rapunzel skid to a stop, nearly dropping her pan at the sight of her friend.

“Varian?” She asked in shock, her brain awash with relief at finally seeing her friend, the boy she thought of as a little brother, face to face. “Varian, are you okay?”

The boy seemed confused at her question, his now pink eyes scrunching up in confusion. “I’m… fine?” He responded hesitantly, as if this were a trick question. “Father and I were just about to start up our invention… oh! Do you want to see? We’ve been working on it for weeks, it’s-”

“Varian.” Rapunzel cut the boy off. She dropped her pan, the iron clattering to the floor as she reached up and took his face in both her hands. His pink eyes were troubling to look at, still somehow dazed, as if he wasn’t quite awake. “Varian listen to me, we’re here to take you home, to Corona.”

“I am home,” Varian laughed, as if she had told a joke, and Rapunzel could feel a stone settle into her gut. So, this was the effect of the Vinculum Crown then? She had expected Varian to be borderline comatose, nonresponsive. Not this, where he acted as if _she_ were the one who was wrong for wanting him home with his family. The pink in his eyes cracked with energy every once and awhile, a bright light zipping through them, as well as the gems in the crown itself.

Aldred smirked from behind Varian, twiddling a few knobs on the machine in front of him. He seemed unphased at Rapunzel’s entrance, as if she was a mere insect, unable to stand in his way.

For the past three weeks she’d certainly felt like it.

Rapunzel turned her attention back to Varian, moving her hands down from his face to his shoulders, shaking him gently. “Varian please,” She said sadly, “You know somewhere deep down that this isn’t what you want.” She bit back tears, pleading with the boy to break himself free from the curse the Crown had placed on him. Their eyes met once again, and Rapunzel swore she could see a desperate spark in them.

“ _I’m not giving up on you_ ,” She said with determination, her mind travelling back to so long ago, when they had worked together to free Quirin, and Varian had pulled her from her own trance.

It was time for her to return the favor.

Rapunzel quickly reached for the Crown, intending to rip if off the boy’s head if she could, but Varian let out an affronted cry and covered it with his hands, twisting out of her grip. Her hand snatched at air, and the princess could feel herself getting frustrated.

Aldred himself merely laughed, and turned to face them, looking away from the great machine behind him. “I can assure you that it won’t be as easy as that.” The man chuckled, watching Rapunzel make a few more grabs for Varian’s head, all of them stopped by the boy scurrying away. The princess huffed in frustration as Varian dodged her again, the boy throwing up his arms in defense.

Aldred finally seemed to get bored of her, the man throwing a very familiar little bomb towards the princess with a casual toss. Rapunzel tried to dodge it, but the bomb hit the stones at her feet and exploded, immediately coating her feet in a thick, green liquid that expanded and hardened as soon as it was exposed to the air. The brunette tried valiantly to pull her feet from where they’d become encased to no avail. She then changed tactics, and desperately tried to reach her frying pan, dropped to the ground nearby, but her fingers only reached air.

“Varian!” She cried at her friend, and the boy looked on in trepidation, inching forwards now that she’d been contained.

“Rapunzel, please!” The boy begged, “You don’t understand! Father rescued me, he brought me home! I don’t want to leave, but I don’t want to lose you either!”

Rapunzel looked at him in despair, unable to meet his pink eyes anymore. Instead she found her eyes trailing down his face to his neck, her blood turning to ice at the sight of the ring of bruises around it, a matching set on his wrists.

“ _This is not your home_!” Rapunzel heard herself suddenly snap. “Home is with us, me and Eugene. Varian, please, Aldred may be your birth father but we’re your _family_! Families don't lock each other in towers, or hurt you to get what they want.”

Varian’s pink eyes looked down on the bruises on his wrists, then back up at her. “I was misbehaving,” The boy whispered. “I deserved it; I wasn’t listening to father.”

_It’s not the real Varian speaking_ something in Rapunzel’s head whispered, _Aldred has him under a spell_. It was hard to remember though, when Varian looked and acted so… _normal_ , despite what he was saying.

“Varian please,” Rapunzel tries to reason, “This isn’t you, it’s the Crown controlling you. Let me take it off and you’ll see-”

Aldred let out another cackle as the machine behind him whirred to life, interrupting her pleading. She had been ignoring it in favor of trying to get to Varian, but now that she got a good look at it, it certainly grabbed at her attention.

The machine was an absolute monstrosity of a thing, nothing like the ones Varian designed. The machine was at least two stories tall, with multiple moving parts and one, giant, focusing eye at the very top. There were large power sources connected up the sides, and multiple moving parts that all synced up perfectly. Rapunzel had no idea what it did, but if Aldred really was Varian’s father she knew he wouldn’t be able to resist explaining his machine with painstaking detail.

“Now we’re cooking with gasoline,” Aldred chuckled, standing before a control panel of sorts, hundreds of blinking lights and levers upon its surface. Rapunzel looked on in awe as the thing puffed a few loud noises before a bright beam of light shot from the focusing eye and into the sky beyond. The minute it hit the clouds above they began to turn dark, the sounds of thunder beginning to ring.

“Good _morning_ darling!” Aldred cawed to the sky, looking on in wonder as his machine began to work.

Rapunzel looked up in panic as lightning began to crackle above, before frantically reaching for her frying pan, her hands grasping nothing but air as she stretched. _Just a little more_ , she thought desperately, _just another inch_.

Aldred turned to her, his long hair whipping in the growing winds, his eyes wild. “You see now?!” He yelled over the winds, uncaring as people in the city below began to scream. “You see what Varian could be achieving if he wasn’t tied to Corona? If you had let his gift _flourish_?”

_If he had stayed in Bayangor_ , the following silence cries.

“This was Aisha’s crowning achievement!” Aldred crowed, “I had poured over the plans for years, but between the two of us she was the engineer. Never could get it to work, but once dear Varian came home… well then it was just a matter of letting him get to work.”

Rapunzel stared at Varian, who had gone mostly quiet since the machine had powered up. The boy looked on at it in concern, his eyes flicking between Aldred and Rapunzel.

“This was one of my mother’s inventions?” He asked quietly, his eyes refocusing on the machine, “Meave said she designed it before she stole me and ran away.”

Aldred scowled at the reminder. “A machine strong enough to harness the power of the skies and direct it at our enemies.” He spat, “Inspired by Zhan Tiri’s storms. Aisha was forced to leave the plans behind when she ran, a final kick in the shin to everything we had built together.”

But then he had gotten ahold of Varian. Someone smart enough to figure out Aisha’s machine blueprints and make them into a reality.

And now it was ready to fulfil its dark purpose.

The skies above grew even more angry, the winds howling. Rapunzel continued to reach for her pan, her fingers brushing the cast iron. She had just managed to snag it when Aldred gestured to Varian.

“Come here, my boy.” Aldred said with glee, “Come hit the final sequence. Destroy Corona once and for all.”

Rapunzel’s heart sank as Varian began to walk over, and she frantically began to chip away at the hardened goo encasing her feet, bashing her frying pan against it with strength she didn’t know she had.

Just as Varian was about to touch the panel, however, an uninvited guest hoisted himself over the outer wall of the tower, and sprung to his feet. Varian let out a surprised cry as the figure grabbed at him and rolled, quickly snatching the boy away from Aldred before either of them could react.

Eugene Fitzherbert rolled into a crouch, pinning a struggling Varian to his side with an arm. With a triumphant cry he used the shock of his sudden appearance to rip the Crown from the kid’s head, the magic separating with a small _crack_ of lightning.

“I _knew_ I still knew how to climb a tower!” Eugene crowed as Varian gently sunk to the floor next to him, dazed and confused but _awake_. Varian’s blue eyes were wide and fearful, but to Rapunzel they were the best thing she’d seen all day.

Eugene chucked the crown as far as he could across the roof, the silver hitting the outer wall with a loud _ting_. The man then stood, already drawing his sword, and turned to face a furious Aldred. The mad king had begun to draw his sword, the rage evident on his face.

“Shall we dance?” Eugene asked sassily, taking a dramatic bow before lunging at the man who had caused his friends so much pain. There was a great _clang_ of metal meeting metal, and the two men were off, hacking and slashing at their opponent with a type of speed that could only come from two well practiced people dueling for blood.

Rapunzel let out a relieved gasp as she managed to free both her feet, immediately sprinting for where Varian had been left to shake himself back to awareness. The princess collapsed to her knees next to the kneeling boy, pulling his lax body into a desperate hug. To her delight Varian gasped out her name as he brought up his arms to return the hug, clinging as close as he could to her.

“You’re okay,” Rapunzel murmured, barely audible over the screaming winds, “You’re okay, we’re here, you’re okay.” Tears of relief built up in her eyes, the woman clutching Varian as close as she could, as if she could protect him from the world for as long as she held him. She pressed a long kiss to the top of his head, before allowing herself to tuck his head under her chin.

Varian shuddered, burrowing deeper into her embrace. Rapunzel could feel warm tears on her shoulder where he’d buried his head, but she didn’t mention it.

A sudden commotion from the men fighting nearby has the pair looking up just as Aldred managed to get the upper hand on Eugene, knocking Rapunzel’s husband to the ground, out cold. She felt Varian tense in her arms, and she quickly snatched up her frying pan, scrambling to her feet.

“Stay there, Varian!” She ordered, not waiting for the boy to respond before she sprinted to where Aldred was raising his sword to deliver a death blow. Rapunzel swung her frying pan as Aldred brought his sword down, the two colliding with a sharp _clang_.

Aldred’s sword was forced outwards, borderline bouncing off the cast iron. The man let out an enraged shout at being denied his kill, and his anger swiftly turned on Rapunzel.

She avoided his haphazard slashing, dodging with elegance, and managed to get a few good hits in. It seemed that Aldred wasn’t much of a one-on-one fighter, much like Varian. They were smarter, but weaker. She spun circles around him, easily quicker than the man, her purple dress swirling as she dodged his every attack. She let loose her final few smoke bombs, making Aldred cough violently until she emerged through the smoke, bashing at his sword arm before disappearing into the coloured clouds again.

Rapunzel was slowly gaining the upper hand, but as the wind blew the last of the smoke away she could see the nearly feral look in Aldred’s eyes, the man turning towards Varian and stalking forwards. The princess was quick to place herself between the two, swinging her pan at him once again.

Aldred seemed to have a few tricks up his sleeve left, as this time he managed to snatch at her frying pan and rip it from her grasp, tossing it off to the side and knocking the smaller woman to the ground with a harsh kick. She landed on the stones harshly, a buzz of pain flying up her arms from where she used them to break her fall.

Rapunzel glared up at the man as he let out an animalistic yell, raising his sword high and bringing it down, the blade slicing through the air. The princess slammed her eyes shut, tensing in preparation for the pain, throwing her arms up from the instinct to protect her head from the impending injury.

It never came.

She cracked a green eye open to see Varian, in a parody of mere minutes before, standing in front of her as a shield, arms wide open to cover as much of her as possible. Aldred’s sword had jerked to a stop mere inches from his face, the boy staring at the man with barely contained anger.

“You don’t touch her!” Varian spat over the screaming winds, “You _don’t ever_ touch her!”

Aldred seemed shocked at the boy’s rage, holding his sword steady. Varian seemed uncaring of the blade between his eyes, glaring steadfastly at the man who had spent the last three weeks torturing him. The two of them stood in a silent debate, the only noise was the howling of the winds as they squared off in a battle of wills.

Aldred paused for a second, but finally laughed, as if he were merely humouring the boy in front of him. “Fine then,” He said, “Go get your crown, put it on, and I won’t hurt them.”

Rapunzel scrambled for Varian’s wrist, clutching it before the boy could move. It was obvious what Varian would choose to do, because she would do the exact same in his position. Hell, she _had_ , back when Gothel had nearly murdered Eugene.

Rapunzel absolutely refused to let Varian make that sacrifice.

“Don’t you dare!” She ordered him, clutching his bruised wrist as tightly as she could without hurting him. “Varian, don’t you _dare_!”

Varian looks at her with a devastated face, his lip wobbling and his eyes scrunched to stop the tears. Aldred’s order seemed to have sucked all the fight from him.

“It’s okay, Rapunzel,” The alchemist said softly, pulling his arm from her grip. “It’s okay.”

The boy began to walk across the tower to where the crown lay. Rapunzel tried to stand, but was stopped by Aldred’s blade in her face. The king merely shook his head with a smirk, and she forced herself back down to the floor. Rapunzel felt the iron claws of panic begin to make their way up her throat, she didn’t know what to do. Eugene was down, she was useless so long as Aldred had her at swordpoint, and Varian was as good as an enemy once that Crown was back on his head.

_She didn’t know what to do_.

Varian walked past a groaning Eugene, the man waking as the boy passed him. Varian reached down and plucked the Crown from where it had landed on the stone floor. One of the points had snapped off at the root, the silver piece clattering to the ground and leaving behind a jagged edge. He took a moment to stare at the thing, running a thumb along the jagged, broken edge and hissing as it bit into the pad of the digit. A small drop of blood welled up, but Varian ignored it.

When Varian slowly wandered back to the center of the roof he stood before Aldred, spine straight but knees quaking. The Crown in his hands glowed a gentle fuchsia, the colour bathing Varian’s face as he stared down at it.

“Put in on.” Aldred commanded, towering over Varian. The boy shook, staring down at the Crown with unseeing eyes. Aldred cupped the boy’s cheek gently, forcing Varian to look at him. Their twin eyes meet, Varain’s full of dismay, Aldred’s full of malice.

Aldred showed no pity, bringing his hand down from Varian’s face to the boy’s hands, trying to guide the boy into bringing the Crown up and onto his head with a nudge.

“Listen to me,” Aldred said condescendingly, “I am your _father_ , I know what’s best for you.”

Rapunzel could see Varian tense, his shoulders lifting in rage. His hands clutched at the Crown tightly, knuckles white and nails digging into his palms. The boy muttered something, his voice lost to the winds. Aldred looked at him with a blunt boredom, but when Varian stared at him again the man was shocked by the icy rage held in those eyes.

“I had a father.” Varian said with a cool anger, his hands tightening around the crown, “And you _killed_ him.”

Things happened very quickly after that.

Before Aldred could react Varian shoved the broken Crown into the man’s face, the boy letting out a snarl of fury. Aldred let out a pained cry as the broken point of the Crown stabbed deep into his eye socket, blood erupting from the wound in a spray that coated Varian’s hands and face in gore.

Aldred backed up, yelling in agony and dropping his sword as he flailed blindly. Rapunzel shot to her feet, rushing for Varian, who had gone stock still in shock, seeming to not believe what he had just done. She grabbed him and pulled the boy’s lax body back with her, the two of them scrambling away from Aldred’s flailing hands.

The man continued to stumble, getting dangerously close to the edge. Rapunzel could see Eugene spring to his feet and try to stop the man from going over, but Aldred’s footing slipped over a stray cable on the floor, the mad king tumbling over the edge of the tower with a sudden shriek of terror.

Rapunzel clutched Varian to her, pushing his face into her neck to keep him from seeing, and doing her best to cover his ears as Aldred’s scream got smaller and smaller before cutting off with a terrible _thump_. She cringed at the noise, squeezing Varian closer to her as Eugene took a peek over the stone wall, flinching at the sight below.

“Oh, gross.” He muttered, pulling back to hurry over to his wife.

Varian shuddered in Rapunzel’s hold, his whole body quaking at the thought of what he’d just done. There was a beat, the two of them lost in their own thoughts, before Varian shivered one last time and pushed himself free from her embrace.

“We need to destroy the machine.” The boy murmured, already headed for the great monstrosity he’d been forced to build. Varian glared at it as it huffed and puffed out great bouts of steam, the boy then cracking his knuckles and beginning to push a sequence of buttons and pulling levers. The great metal beast began to groan under the stress of whatever it was that Varian was telling it to do, and the winds hit a shrieking pitch with how fast they were going.

“Uh, kid?” Eugene asked, moving to the boy’s side. “This doesn’t sound like turning it off.”

“I’m not turning it off,” Varian responded with a manic sort of determination, still tapping away at the control panel. “I’m _destroying it_. If I push it hard enough it’ll collapse under the pressure and explode.”

“Oh.” Eugene said nervously, “Is that all.”

There was a ghost of a smile on Varian’s face as the machine gave one final groan before a small fire broke out in one of the energy cores, the smell of burning metal and ozone overtaking the air almost immediately. Varian and Eugene began to back away, the boys and Rapunzel watching in fascination as flames began to eat away at the machine before them.

The howling winds began to quiet, and the skies lightened to their usual grey; Rapunzel felt herself relax just enough to drop her shoulders for the first time in weeks.

And then the machine exploded, three of the cores shattering outwards and sending bits of flaming metal plummeting to the courtyard below.

“Time to go!” Eugene shouted, grabbing Varian by the back of his shirt and hoisting the kid away from the machine, pushing the alchemist towards the door. Flames licked upwards from the metal giant into the sky as they piled through the trapdoor and down the stairs. The whole tower shook as they ran down the stairs, another series of explosions rocking the building to the very core.

When the trio hit the ground floor they sprinted deeper into the castle, Eugene borderline dragging Varian behind him. A great groan came from the tower ceiling, and Rapunzel let out a gasp as she saw the stones under the machine begin to give way, collapsing under the combined pressure of the weight and heat.

She could see a few stones begin to slip loose, plummeting the height of the tower, followed by many more. With a great groan the ceiling gave way, shaking apart like a deck of cards.

“ _Watch out_!” She yelped as the burning wreckage of the machine fell the long drop down to the ground floor, coming down like a ball of fire. It’s fiery corpse hit the ground with a deafening _boom_ that rattled Rapunzel right to the bones. Flames began to spread through the interior of the castle, reaching upwards and consuming everything in their path.

The princess saw the fire hit the library, the blaze growing rapidly in the presence of so much paper and wood. Varian let out a sudden cry when he saw the room go up in flames.

“ _Meave_!” He screamed, rushing towards the burning corpse of the library. Rapunzel caught him by the wrist, already starting to cough from the smoke filling the building. Varian struggled against her for a brief second, but gave up when he didn’t see anyone moving within the wreckage.

The fire continued to grow, consuming the entire northern half of Barviel Keep once it had gotten the boost of the library. Rapunzel felt Eugene’s calloused fingers in her own and let her grip on Varian sink from his wrist to his hand. Together they ran through the smokey hallways, all three of them coughing as their lungs filled with smoke and ash.

Varian skid to a stop as they ran through the hall of portraits, his hand slipping from Rapunzels as his blue eyes fixed on one of the more recent portraits. Rapunzel grabbed at him, but he refused to be moved as smoke began to fill the room. He stared up at the green eyes of his mother, her painting bathed in fire just as her son was now.

“Varian!” Rapunzel cried, trying to guide him away, “Varian leave it, it’s just a painting!”

The boy refused to budge, as if entranced by Aisha’s portrait.

Varian seemed to look for something in the painting of his mother, staring at it long and hard as smoke filled the room. He seemed to find what he was looking for, as he finally glanced away before finally turning to face his friend, his _sister_.

Rapunzel’s green eyes were wide with fright, but she sighed in relief when Varian began to move again as flames crept in to eat away at the hall of portraits. She held out a hand to him, and Varian took it without hesitation. Rapunzel clenched Eugene’s hand a little tighter as he led their little chain through the smoke, the three of them coughing roughly as they tried to outrun the flames.

Eventually they hit the great hall once again, the door to the courtyard wide open. Together the three found themselves bursting out of the castle and into the courtyard. The all panted for breath in the fresh air, Eugene still forcing them forwards as Rapunzel dragged Varian behind her. The princess was relieved to see Cassandra, Adira, and Hector waiting for them, the swarm of guards nowhere to be seen. The other’s eyes lit up seeing Varian in one piece, and together the six of them rushed from the burning ruin that was once Barviel Keep.

Somewhere along the bridge connecting the island to the mainland they stopped, huffing for breath. They were surrounded by a large group of Bayan commoners, all of them turning to look towards the vast fire that reached the clouds above. The entire castle was consumed, not a single inch spared from the hungry flames. With a great crash the main structure finally gave in, the outer walls sinking inwards and spewing a plume of ash and dust up higher than they could see. The silhouette of the castle was gone, leaving a massive pile of burning rubble in its place.

A single person began to applaud from somewhere in the crowd., followed by many others. A few voices rang up joyfully, and eventually the Bayan people began to cheer as the castle in front of them burned to the ground. Rapunzel realized that in the whole time she’d been running she never once had let go of Varian’s hand, and now she used it as leverage to draw him close once more.

The danger had passed, she told herself as she held him tightly.

“Are you okay?” Rapunzel asked softly, running her hands through his wild hair. She used her sleeve to start cleaning the blood from his face, fussing over him now that they were finally safe. Varian looked up at her, blue eyes wide and scared.

“Not really.” He whispered, “But I will be, eventually.”

And that was all she could ask for, really. She smiled down at him warmly, and tugged him into a side hug, not quite ready to let him go quite yet. Eugene let go of her other hand, drawing up close to Varian and gently cupping his face to inspect the kid for injuries. The man growled at the sight of Varian’s many bruises, but the boy shrugged him off.

“It’s nothing,” The boy said softly, “Just superficial.”

Eugene smiled sadly, but ruffled the kid’s hair, nonetheless. They’d have time to address traumas at a later date. If Varian wanted a couple days to revel in his freedom before cracking open that particular can of worms, Eugene wouldn’t deny him that.

For now, Eugene was content to pull Rapunzel, and by extension Varian, to him. He held them close as he heard Varian start to sniffle, slowly letting the emotions of the last few days wash over him. Rapunzel cooed and hugged him close, her own breaths becoming shaky as she too began to cry. Eugene bundled the sobbing pair in his arms, feeling Varian turn in Rapunzel’s hold to cling to him as well. Eugene gently set his chin upon his wife’s head, feeling a few tears of his own escape and fall into her hair.

The little family held each other close, uncaring of the reek of smoke on their clothes.

In the distance the ruins of Barviel Keep, and the legacy within, crumbled to ash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IN 👏 THIS 👏 CANON 👏 WE 👏 THROW 👏 ABUSIVE 👏 PARENTS 👏 OFF 👏 TOWERS


	8. Gentle Waves Upon a Beach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Healing takes time

The first night of Varian’s freedom had been difficult, but rewarding. With the ruins of Barviel safely behind them, the group had elected to pitch camp for the night, deep in the woods of Bayangor. They were far from any path, tucked away from prying eyes, and yet Varian had noticed that Rapunzel refused to stray too far from his side. He was grateful for it, to be honest. He wasn’t exactly sure when the feeling of dread had begun to settle deep into his gut, but it was there all the same. Father was dead, his corpse nothing but ash, but Varian found himself peeking around trees, jumping at noises.

Waiting, with bated breath, for father to come find him, and drag him back to that tower.

Logically, the alchemist knew that even if father were still alive he’d have a hell of a fight if he wanted to even _look_ at Varian again, but logic didn’t seem to be able to calm the stuttering of his heart every time a small noise came from the forest beyond.

Rapunzel had been a beaming light in the darkness of that first night, and the next five nights after that.

The road back to Corona had been blissfully quiet. The group had stopped in the small town of New Mastha on the way out, and Varian had met the colourful couple who had run the pub there. They’d stayed the night, the barkeeper, Alida, doting on Varian with sweets and cheek pinches. The boy had begrudgingly taken it with grace, for the sake of eating something that wasn’t the hoity-toity palace food of Barviel Keep. When they’d left the next morning Cass had promised to write to the pair soon.

Adira and Hector had split off from the group before they left Bayangor, off on some other adventure. Adira hadn’t mentioned much, but had given Varian a friendly pat on the head when they left. Hector had stared at the boy for just a second too long, as if searching for something and eventually finding it.

And like that, they were gone.

Cassandra had left as well, just outside the Coronian capital.

“I’m not done yet,” Was all she’d said to justify it, looking back out into the woods with Fidella at her side. “There’s always some adventure going on in the world, and I’m going to chase it until the end.”

Rapunzel had hugged her tight, the two whispering to each other for a second. Cass’d offered Eugene a simple knock on the shoulder, which he returned with a playful air. Varian had thrown all convention out the window, rushing to Cassandra and nearly tackling the woman in as tight a hug as he could manage.

Cass had stumbled a bit at his sudden weight, but she merely smiled and hugged him back, giving him one last squeeze before they separated. Varian had been filled into their side of the past four weeks, and he’d given them as much information as he could about his stay in Barivel Keep. He knew exactly how Rapunzel and Eugene had managed to find him.

He owed a lot to Cassandra, for abandoning her post and making the grueling trip from Bayangor to Corona and back again without a proper rest. For fighting father and his men with everything she had. For putting all she could into the past four weeks. All to see him home and safe with his family.

With a gruff grunt she pushed him away, but the gentleness in her hands betrayed her. “You be careful out there,” She muttered, “Next time I might not be there to pull you out of trouble by the scruff of the neck.”

Varian had only given a small smile at that, watching her with amusement as she shouldered her pack and hopped onto Fidella, leaving the three of them behind in a cloud of dust as she sped off to the next adventure.

The shining towers of Corona stood tall in the distance, beacons of light to guide Varian home at last.

Now that they were home, however, Varian couldn’t help but feel lost.

When they’d first entered the Castle of Corona Varian had honestly just stopped to enjoy the view for a quick second, staring up at the white limestone walls bathed in sunlight. It was something he never thought he’d miss, the light of the sun.

It was the little things, he supposed.

Oddly enough it was Arianna who had rushed from the castle first, pulling Varian into a hug before the boy could back away. He’d always avoided her, not from her lack of trying. Varian had always been unable to shake the guilt that ate at him every time he spoke to the queen.

“Varian! Oh, sweetheart we were so worried!” Arianna had cried, refusing to let Varian go until he awkwardly hugged her back, looking over her shoulder at a laughing Rapunzel and silently begging her for help.

Frederick had followed his wife at a slower pace, but once Arianna had let the boy go he cleared his throat. Varian had cowered a bit in the man’s shadow, needless to say there was bad history there as well and the alchemist couldn’t help but to think back to another large, dark shadow that had stolen him, kept him prisoner for weeks, starved him, _broke him_ -

“It’s good to see you home.” Frederick had said gruffly, putting a massive hand on Varian’s shoulder awkwardly. The boy buckled under the weight, but looked up to the king with something akin to gratefulness.

“Good to be home, sir.” Varian had responded politely. Frederick had smiled, and led the crew inside, declaring that Varian was to be taken to the infirmary at once.

It wasn’t great news they’d received from the doctor, but it could have been much worse.

Varian was thinner than he should be, having refused food multiple times over the course of his kidnapping. He was dehydrated, malnourished, and _desperately_ in need of a good week’s sleep.

His ribs were broken, as assumed, but healing well enough. It would be at least another month before they were fully healed, and that was if they were all set. There was always the potential that one would never fully fuse back, and be stuck as a floating rib for the rest of his life. The bruises on his neck and wrists were given salves, stinky concoctions of healing herbs and medicines that would help them to heal quicker. They were cold to the touch, and Varian hated having to replenish it every few hours.

His fingers were the worst of it, oddly enough. Varian couldn’t ignore the irony of his first injury from father being the one that might haunt him into adulthood.

They would heal, yes, but potentially the middle finger would always be crooked, and unable to perform minute movements with any accuracy. In a fit of shock Varian couldn’t help but be grateful that Aldred had chosen his non-dominant hand to break.

Eugene and Rapunzel had stayed by his side the whole time, the two of them listening intently to the doctor so that Varian was able to space out as he needed. Varian knew he had been distant since they had brought him home, not really listening to anything around him and blankly staring off into space when left to his own devices. He could tell that they were getting worried by his lack of responses. No one tried to push, however, knowing better.

Varian would come around on his own.

Hopefully.

Varian felt lost in the halls of Corona Castle. Rapunzel was worried about him, of course she was, but Varian felt numb to it all. He wandered the hallways of the castle in a daze, like a lost ghost haunting somewhere he didn’t belong. Somewhere along the line he’d been given his own clothing to wear again, but he wasn’t allowed back into the lab quite yet. Eugene had been the one to order that, keeping Varian in the infirmary where people could keep an eye on him.

They were worried he’d hurt himself- he could see it in their eyes.

Worried that father’s influence had rooted itself so deeply into him that he was lost without it and would do something _drastic_.

It was insulting, honestly, this thought that Varian was a delicate flower that needed to be handled with a careful touch. It made the boy’s blood boil a bit with every kind word, every well wish, every _we’re here for you_ said in a whimpering tone.

He knew that the anger was misplaced, just his broken mind’s way of trying to fix itself. Trying to push the people around him until they snapped with him, and _then_ he would see who would be safe to be around and who was merely another fathe- _Aldred_ in disguise. It was something his hurt soul told him was right to do, to test the waters before pushing back out to sea.

Eugene and Rapunzel kept him company for as long as they could, spending every second they could with him. He never spoke much, even though he wanted to. It made them concerned, the silence. The Varian of before was a chatterbox, it took effort to shut him up.

Now, they were lucky to hear his voice at all.

Varian was concerned that the boy he’d been before had died somewhere in Barviel Keep, lost forever to the cavernous halls and cold stone. That Quirin’s chatterbox, brightly spirited son had gone up in flames with the rest of those bloody portraits of the dead.

And who was he now, then? If the Varian of the past was washed away with the tides then what remained, buried in the sand? Who was this broken wraith of a boy, wandering the halls like a vengeful spirit?

Maybe Eugene was right to keep him away from dangerous objects for the time being.

There was, of course, the issue of regency to deal with. King Frederick, oddly enough, had taken Varian under his wing for that, seeing as the boy had little to no knowledge as to the ways of the courts. Varian had startled when the king had arrived in the sickbay a week after Varian had returned home, the man looking comically large as he struggled to fit into the tiny visitor’s chair next to Varian’s bed.

“I was hoping you would accompany me to the next council meeting,” The man said gruffly, but not unkindly. “We’ll need your input as to where you want to proceed with the topic of Bayangor.”

Varian felt his heart sink to the floor. Frederick must have seen the boy going pale, as he rushed to sooth the distressed alchemist in front of him.

“I only ask because it is your choice to make,” The large man blurted out, hands up in a placating gesture. “You arguably have as much power as I do as the sole heir of Bayangor, it would be wrong to move forwards without your voice in the conversation.”

“I don’t want it.” Varian had croaked out, and it was the first thing he’d said in three days. Frederick seemed shocked that Varian had spoken, but relieved that the boy hadn’t bolted the minute he could. The man nodded at Varian’s wish, and reached out to put a hand on his shoulder.

“That’s an option as well,” Frederick said kindly, “We just need to go through the proper bureaucracy to make it happen.”

And it was here that Varian found himself, sitting at the head of a great wooden table, surrounded by Frederick’s advisors and generals, doing his best not to burst into stressed tears. This was _so far_ outside his comfort zone it wasn’t even funny.

Rapunzel was seated to his left, Eugene to her other side, and she reached a dainty hand under the table to grab ahold of Varian’s gloves, offering what quiet comfort she could as the advisors bickered in front of them. Varian squeezed her hand back, trying to control his breathing.

“Aldred’s lords want the boy to return,” One advisor, a gruff looking man with a sweeping moustache, said. “They still need a ruler, now that King Aldred is no more.”

Varian could feel the claws of panic begin to climb up his throat at the thought of returning to Bayangor. Father may be gone, Varian’s prison turned to ash, but the mere suggestion was enough to make his heart race so quickly that the alchemist couldn’t hear anything outside his racing pulse. Rapunzel’s hand leaving his own, though, shocked him out of his trance enough to see Eugene slam his palms down onto the table in a rage.

“Over my dead body!” The man spat, glaring at the advisor from across the table. Rapunzel was standing next to him, just as furious but just a smidge more diplomatically.

“We are _never_ letting Varian go back there again.” She said frostily.

Frederick held up a hand from the far end of the table, looking at his daughter with a glow of pride. The fighting energy of Rapunzel and Eugene simmered to a soft boil, the pair sinking down into their seats as Frederick began to speak.

“Aldred’s court unfortunately has all the rights in the world to demand Varian’s return to Bayangor-” Frederick was cut off by Rapunzel trying to argue again, but he continued on with grace, “-as he is their crown prince. However, there is a way for us to keep him home in Corona where he belongs.”

A heavy silence permeated the air between them all, as every set of eyes in the room came to rest on Varian’s hunched shoulders. The alchemist felt pinned down by the stares of everyone at the table, and glared down at his hands, idly picking at one of the splints on his fingers.

They were waiting for him to speak, he knew this, but somewhere the words were getting stuck in his throat. He’d choke on them, at this rate. Varian startled as Rapunzel laid a soft hand on his forearm, his eyes snapping up to meet hers. She smiled at him, something soft and kind, and he felt his throat begin to loosen.

“I… I want to stay. In Corona. Please.” He choked out, eyes snapping back down to his hands. His voice was barely above a whisper, but it was more than he’d managed to say all day. Being pinned by so many judgmental looks made him think of the Portrait Hall of Barviel, and it was a less than comforting experience. 

Frederick’s eyes were kind, the man looking proud at Varian’s statement. It was an odd feeling, seeing the Kind look at him with anything other than a gruff acceptance. Everyone in the room turned to Frederick once again as it was obvious Varian wasn’t going to be saying anything else, and Varian released the breath he’d been holding under their scrutiny.

“How do we keep Aldred’s court away from Varian?” Rapunzel asked firmly into the silent room, fixing her father with an intense look. Frederick bore it with grace, back straight in his chair.

“Corona annexes Bayangor.” He said simply. “Because Varian unfortunately no longer has a legal guardian, he becomes my ward. Once he’s eighteen he can choose to abdicate if he wishes.”

The room exploded with voices.

All eight of the advisors were yelling, each one louder than the last in hopes to be heard over the rabble. Many of them had stood up from the table, some of them were arguing between themselves, it was absolute chaos.

Varian ignored all of it, instead staring down at his hands as his ears rang with shock.

He saw Rapunzel’s hand come in from the right, tightly gripping his own once again. The princess was speaking, trying to get everyone to _shut up_ to no avail. Vairan could feel himself start to tremble from the sheer stress of it all, of all these people arguing over him like he was a scrap of meat thrown to rabid dogs. His breaths turned frantic, his heart beating at a rabbit’s pace.

He actually might pass out if this keeps up.

“ _QUIET!_ ” Frederick’s loud voice boomed over the rabble, everyone shocked to silence from the volume. The man huffed, and then continued at his normal speaking voice. “Please, my friends, are we children? If you have points to make I will listen, but the yelling will get us nowhere.”

The advisors seemed properly chastised, all of them dropping back into their seats one by one.

“...My lord,” One brave advisor, the one with the mustache, finally spoke. “I must urge you against this plan. Corona does not have the manpower to take Bayangor, even with their heir apparent as a political prisoner.”

Varian startled at that, realizing that that is exactly what he would be. He knew that this wasn’t exactly uncommon, the concept of claiming a rival kingdom’s heir as a ward after a war. It was to prevent people, mainly the lords of the defeated kingdom, from uprising in the face of their new leaders. On paper, he would be considered Frederick’s hostage until he abdicated from his unwanted position as Bayangor’s heir apparent. The thought made him feel sick, despite the knowledge that they were doing so in order to keep him in Corona like he wanted.

Rapunzel’s other hand shifted to gently pat where their hands were connected. Her face was grim but determined.

“We won’t need to take the country with force.” She said with conviction. “I’ve seen how the Bayan people felt about the past regency. The commoners will probably welcome the change, to be honest.”

Frederick nodded to her with a grateful look, but was then dragged back into another protest.

“And how are we to protect these new borders?” One of the generals said with more than a little salt, “Bayangor is nearly the same size as Corona, and I doubt their men will switch sides and help us to patrol, especially around the outer country. It’s not so simple as to walk up to them and start barking orders.”

“I think the Bayans have needed help for years,” The head of the palace treasury piped up, her voice quiet in the large room. “You have no idea how many Bayan refugees have hopped the border since they lost their queen. Towns like Old Corona have been growing exponentially from the sheer amount of people jumping off that sinking ship. I say we annex them simply to help those who need the assistance but couldn’t make the trip.”

The general looked affronted and began to lean forwards. “You _would_ say that you bleeding heart-”

Frederick held up his hand once more, silencing the argument he could see brewing. Varian sank deeper into his chair, firmly regretting having ever agreed to be here. Rapunzel continues to pat his hand in solidarity. He peeked through his hair as she leaned over to say something to him.

“These meetings always are the _worst_ ,” She assured him with a whisper, ignoring her father’s attempt at peacekeeping, “But once it’s over we’ll be able to finally relax.”

Like most other times, Rapunzel turned out to be right.

By the end of the day Varian had signed enough contracts to make his hand ache, but the hardest part of the work was done. Varian was now legally a ward of King Frederick and Queen Arianna, until the dawn of his eighteenth birthday, where he would then abdicate from the throne of Bayangor, officially signing over the rights to the crown that had been forced upon him.

That evening Rapunzel sat next to his bed in the sickbay, the two of them quietly enjoying the silence after such a loud afternoon. Varian idly flipped through the book in front of him, _A History of Cryptozoology_ , staring at the chapter about Snallygasters without really reading it. Rapunzel was engrossed with her sketchbook, hastily scribbling as if she was being timed to finish the drawing before she forgets what it was supposed to be.

Varian had been back in Corona for a week, and yet he still felt as if he were on a knifepoint. There was something inside him waiting for the other shoe to drop, waiting for fath- _Aldred_ to come and find him, dragging him back to Barviel Keep without a care in the world. 

He was supposed to be sleeping more often, according to the doctor, but Varian didn’t have the heart to tell Rapunzel about the horrific nightmares that had prevented him from getting any sense of rest. Every time he closed his eyes he was back in father’s grasp, screaming for help without answer. Varian had scared more than one nurse by waking up with a panicked screeching, bolting from the bed like a man on fire before he could come to his senses.

Rapunzel seemed to sense his melancholy mood, setting down her pen and looking over to Varian with mischief in her eye.

“I know you’re not supposed to be stressing yourself by walking around, and all,” She said with a playful tone, “But I heard that the cook was making eclairs for tomorrow’s dessert, and they’ll be in the icebox overnight tonight to chill.”

Varian eyed her with something close to his old sense of humor, leaning in so that the on-duty nurse wouldn’t hear their plans.

If Rapunzel was upset by Varian’s lack of voice she didn’t show it, leaning in as well to drop her voice to a whisper.

“What do you think about going on a little field trip?”.

Something in him loosened its constrictive grip on his heart, now that he has a little more clarity in his future. Now that he _knew_ he could remain in Corona like he wanted, Varian felt the tension begin to bleed from him. Deep in his throat, the stone that had lodged itself began to slip free.

“I think I’d like that,” He said, in a stronger voice than he’d had all week.

Rapunzel’s responding grin was brighter than the sun.

Varian got better, with time.

There were good days, days where he almost felt like his old self, days where he could talk, laugh, hell some days he even caught himself cracking jokes with Eugene as if nothing had ever happened.

There were bad days too, though. Days where Varian couldn’t get himself out of bed. Days where he can’t see through the wall of tears that threaten to overtake him.

Days where, like his first day in Barviel Keep, his temper got the better of him. Varian had always been the type to skip the sorrow and go right for anger, and he knew that fact well. Rapunzel did too, bless her, so when he snapped at her once or twice she took it with grace until the fire petered out, and she was left with a sobbing boy begging her forgiveness. It’s no excuse, but he felt terrible about it when she merely hugged him close and cooed to him until he calmed down.

It had been almost a month since Varian had been brought home. His fingers were finally unsplinted, and though his ribs still pained him he was nearly back to his full range of movement. The bruises were long gone, only a memory.

Mentally, however, there were still a lot of open wounds to be dealt with. 

Varian had been allowed back into his laboratory once his health had improved, but he’d gotten about three steps inside, seen the way a certain portion of the floor had been cleaned a little _too_ hard, and immediately turned tail and ran as far as he could in the other direction. Something in him felt ashamed, the fact that he was unable to even _enter_ the room his father had died in, but he shoved that piece of him as far deep into his mind as he could.

It was a cycle of ups and downs, but he _was_ getting better.

Cassandra wrote to Varian every few weeks, Owl showing up at random hours and pecking at his window to be let in. The boy always wrote back, letting her know all the palace gossip and how his own health was faring. She, in exchange, regaled him with stories of her own exploits across the seven kingdoms.

Varian, slowly, began to wander the halls with purpose again. He never did try to go back to his lab, but he did sit in the library for long bouts of time, drinking odd teas of dill and roses and pretending to like the taste. He began to branch out again, willingly leaving the castle with Rapunzel and Eugene for their weekly adventures once more.

Slowly, but surely, he made progress towards leaving the past behind him.

And Varian got better, with time.

Rapunzel had kept her promise to throw Varian one hell of a birthday party.

Granted, it’s nearly two months late, but it still _happened_. The food was delicious, the music was lively, and all of Varian’s friends were there, plus another couple _hundred_ people.

Varian had never run from a party so quickly in his life.

The noise was too much. The _people_ were too much. Everyone was talking to him in that weird, stilted voice they used when speaking to the royal family, which he supposed he _was_ technically part of now, but it was still weird for a kid who had grown up as nothing more than _Quirin’s-weird-son_ in a rural town to suddenly be treated as if he were made of gold.

He pulled at the constrictive suit he’d been forced into, awkwardly trying to make it less irritating to wear. The collar was too tight, the tie too high on his throat, and his shoes were just a smidge too big. It made him feel as if he were a trained monkey, dancing in his little costume for the amusement of the _real_ royals.

So, of course, he dipped out the minute he saw the chance.

The hallways of Corona Castle were blissfully quiet compared to the ballroom. The boy sighed with relief when the noise finally abated the further he got, and he could only hope that no one had noticed him missing quite yet.

He wandered aimlessly for a while, enjoying the solitude, until he found himself in front of a familiar door. Where once the sight of his laboratory had brought him great joy, it now made a rush of cold creep up his spine. He never had tried to go back, after that first disastrous attempt, but there was something in there he needed to see for himself.

With a sigh of resignation, he pushed the door wide open, and stepped into the dark lab. Without the daylight or torches the lab was nearly pitch black, but if anything, it helped him forget _where_ exactly he was. The boy crossed the room quickly, finding what he was looking for exactly where he had left it nearly two months ago.

Varian tucked it away into his pocket, leaving the lab quickly. A new destination in mind, he picked up his pace, his footsteps echoing in the hallways of Corona Castle as he swiftly walked through, unyielding in his pace.

Varian’s pocket burned with the knowledge within it, and he couldn’t help but walk a little faster.

The castle graveyard was something that was both beautiful and morose at the same time. The finely carved statues and graves were works of art in themselves, their perfect faces frozen in expressions of melancholy. Where Bayangor immortalized their royals in paint and canvas, Corona did so in marble and limestone. Rapunzel herself had once had a grave here, Varian knows, despite the fact that the king and queen had never given up on finding her.

He also knows that Quirin, as an old friend of Frederick’s and as a member of the noble class, had been buried here as well.

Varian felt small before his dad’s grave. Someone, probably the royal family, had commissioned a statue of the man, Quirin posing with his sword in full armored regalia, the blade pointed down towards the ground. Two marble hands held the grip of the sword, the statue’s marble shoulders drawn backwards in a military stance.

Varian looked up at the marble rendition of his dad, his eyes already swimming with tears. He sniffled quietly, rubbing at them with the sleeves of his stupid suit. Filled with purpose he sat down quietly, uncaring of how the dirt below him sank into his clothes.

“Hi daddy.” He said, voice barely over a whisper, the boy reaching into his pocket and pulling out the note Quirin had written him so long ago. “I miss you.”

And he did, truely and terribly. It was a deep seated hole in his heart, the absence of his dad. He had tried to plug it up, the first time he’d lost his dad to the amber. Tried to fill it with rage, and hurt, and _revenge_.

The second time there was nothing to fill it with but more loss, so Varian didn’t even try.

Varian took a deep, shaky breath as he unfolded the note, his eyes skimming over Quirin’s familiar handwriting.

With a final swipe at his eyes to clear the tears, Varian began to read.

_Son,_ it began, _There are so many secrets I have kept from you. There’s not much time, but I will start with this. I love you more than anything, but you are not a child of my blood. I met your mother when she was already pregnant._

Varian felt a wave of revulsion from re-reading the words, knowing now the pain that fact had caused. But Varian knew he deserved to know the full story, and so he forced himself to proceed.

_She was beautiful, your mother, but that isn’t why I fell in love with her. We both know you didn’t get that mind of yours from nowhere, and I fully believe it was from her. She was scarily smart, but she was also kind, and true. Aisha had the kind of heart that would bleed for anyone who needed her, a willingness to give all she had to others. She was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Every day you remind me more and more of her, and I couldn’t be more proud of you._

_You are a descendant of the house of Bayangor. Your mother ran from the king, your birth father, in hopes that he would never find you_.

Varian couldn’t help the bitterness on his tongue at that. Fat lot of good it did him, in the end.

_We met on the road. I had already left my home country, the Dark Kingdom,_ _and she had been on the run for a month already. We decided to pretend to be married to prevent suspicion and somewhere along the way… well it became real to us._

_The day you arrived was one of the happiest days of my life._

_We named you Varian, a name that my mother had always wanted for a grandchild. It’s a traditional name from the Dark Kingdom, meaning born into love._

_Because that’s what you are. Loved. Truly and deeply, no matter what. If this is really goodbye, then I’m sorry I can’t be there to watch you grow into the man you’re going to be. But I believe that no matter what, you’re going to be amazing, and I couldn’t be prouder._

_You’re going to take the world by storm, Varian, and I can’t wait to watch you do it._

_Love, Dad_

And then it ended. Qurin really hadn’t had much time to write, Vairan supposed, while the amber had been crawling up, consuming him.

A tear suddenly dropped down onto the parchment, soon followed by many more.

Varian hunched over the note and began to cry in deep, wheezing sobs without a care as to who heard him. Fat tears rushed down his face in rivers, blinding him to everything as the colours swirled. He was forced to take gasping breaths in between cries, the air hitching in his throat every time. He grasped the note gently, not daring to touch it too much in fear of destroying the last words of his dad.

He wailed out into the starry night, a pitched, mourning noise that rang loudly in the quiet of the evening. He curled up tighter over the note, over his dad’s grave, over himself. Maybe if he curled up tight enough he’d finally disappear.

“Varian?” A small voice said, and the boy’s head shot up in surprise.

Rapunzel was radiant as ever, even out in the middle of a graveyard. Her brown hair was done up with flowers, her crown polished and perfectly placed on her head.

Varian said nothing, turned away from her, and continued to cry.

“Oh, Varian.” The princess said sadly, slowly approaching him like one would a spooked animal. She dropped to her knees beside him, arms wrapping around in a tight hug. Varian leaned into it immediately, burrowing his face into her shoulder as he cried. She slowly pried the note from him, setting it down carefully on the ground next to them as she began to rock him back and forth in an attempt to sooth.

“It’s going to be okay.” She said in a soft tone. “Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but it will. I promise you, one day, it’ll be okay.”

Varian shuddered in her arms, not saying a word as the tears overtook anything else he tried to do in response to her soothing. He could feel the top of his hair begin to dampen, and with a slight shock he realized that she was crying too.

“We looked for you for so long.” She said sadly, trying to distract him, “Over two weeks, and there was nothing. I made them check everywhere for you, Eugene and I went out every day to try and bring you home. But you know what my first thought was, every time I came back empty handed?”

Varian shook in her arms, and she kissed the top of his head to ground herself.

“I thought, _this is what my parents went through_ , when I was gone.”

Varian could feel his body tense at that, the thought of her in so much distress. If anyone deserved to live a long, happy life it was Rapunzel.

“And that ate at me for so long, that I couldn’t find you. So when Cassandra finally brought us the information we needed, I couldn’t help but cry.”

He brought up a hand to one of hers, and she gripped it tightly.

“I know you’re in pain.” She continued, looking up at Quirin’s statue. “I know you’re hurting, and you will be for a long time. I was too, after I escaped from Gothel. But I’m not giving up on you, and all I ask is that you don’t give up on yourself.”

Varian let out a pathetic sniffle, pulling back so he could look her in the eye. 

“I won’t.” He choked out through hitching breaths. “I won’t, I promise.”

She tugged him close again, and he looked up past her to his dad’s grave. Quirin smiled down at him, forever immortalized in marble with a kind, gentle look on his face. Varian could feel something in him fully shatter as he wailed out his despair, his attempts at keeping it together with tape and promises finally not enough.

Rapunzel continued to rock him, uncaring of how the dirt began to stain her dress.

Somewhere inside his chest, the shattered fragments of his heart slowly began to piece themselves back together now that they had been properly broken. The tears began to slow, and the rawness that had been in his heart began to heal over.

_The strongest of us know that in order to rise, we first have to sink,_ something within him said with conviction.

It was here, wrapped up in the arms of his sister, that Varian knew he could begin piercing himself back together, maybe never exactly as he had been before, but reborn as something new. Something stronger, something resilient.

Rapunzel squeezed him close again, a little more put together now that Varian had at least calmed a bit. He hugged her tightly, content to sit in the dirt and cry for a little while longer in the bright light of the moon. Varian stared up at Quirin’s grave for a long while, the sight of the man’s smile like a healing balm on his pain.

Someday soon, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but _someday_ , he would heal.

He finally let her go, reaching to pick up the note once again. He clutched it close to his chest, sniffling as the tears finally flowed to a stop. Rapunzel wiped them away gently, giving him a watery smile.

“Feel better?” She asked softly, gently cupping his face.

“I… yeah I really do.” He responded with shock.

She smiled knowingly at the admission. Varian couldn’t help but return it, smaller and weaker, but _there_.

He still hurt, yes, but it was calmer. A little less sharp, a little more manageable.

Rapunzel began to stand, trying to brush the dirt from her dress with futile motions. She held out a hand to him, eyes full of love.

“C’mon,” She said with a small smile, “We should go back inside before Eugene and Lance eat all the cake.”

Varian let out a wet little giggle at that, taking her hand with a lightness he hadn’t felt in months.

Together, the two of them walked back into Corona Castle, and away from the melancholy of the graveyard. As they closed the door to the castle together, the yellow light from the torches faded until only the soft blue light of the moonlight was left.

And in that moonlight, the statue of Quirin of Old Corona smiled in pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY SO Big ol ending is done!!! Thank you guys very much for reading, commenting, kudos-ing, all that good stuff. It's been one HELL of a ride, and I'm glad you were all here to share it with me. Here's the epilogue, something nice and quiet to cap off the crazy!
> 
> On to the next one, I guess!

**Author's Note:**

> Lord help me I'm back on my bullshit, but my bullshit is going to update every Wednesday so enjoy I guess??


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